


Reign

by DrGairyuki



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Post-War, Alternate Universe - World War II, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Metaphors, Anti-Hero, Awesome, Being Human - Freeform, Bittersweet Ending, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Children of Characters, Crazy, Cute Ending, Cyborgs, Cynical, Cynicism, Dark, Dark Character, Dark Past, Depressing, Depression, Deus Ex Machina, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Extended Metaphors, F/F, Far Future, Fluffy Ending, Freedom, Freedom Fighters, Fridge Horror, Future, Future Character Death, Future Fic, Gen, Ghosts, Giant Robots, Gore, Government Experimentation, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Heartbreaking, Heartwarming, Heartwrenching, Heavy Angst, Hopeful Ending, Horror, Human, Human Experimentation, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Insanity, Irony, Killed Off For Real, Killer Robots, Loss, Loss of Control, Loss of Faith, Loss of Identity, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Powers, Lost Love, Math and Science Metaphors, Mecha, Medical Experimentation, Mental Instability, Metaphors, Monsters, Musical References, Mystery, Nightmare Fuel, Nightmares, Nihilism, Older Characters, Other, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Torture, Plot Twists, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Post-World War II, Power of Words, Rebellion, Rebels, Redemption, Resistance, Revolution, Revolutionaries, Rhyming, Robots, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Science Experiments, Serious Injuries, Snark, Souls, Strength, Tearjerker, The Revolution Will Be Televised, Tragedy, Unethical Experimentation, Violence, Women Being Awesome, Woobie, Words rhyming, details, fridge brillance, horror of wars, lost lenore, maybe magic, maybe not, mention of characters, mortal, mortal being, repeated use of words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-18 04:29:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16988061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrGairyuki/pseuds/DrGairyuki
Summary: In the far future of Remnant, 20 years long after the Second Great War. A cold and hostile Kingdom of Vale has turn into a fascist state with the border of its city closed off from the rest of the world and traded its freedom for security imposed by the brutal troopers of KOVIP.Ruby Rose, the former 15 year old Huntress-In-Training who was determinate to save people, is now a 45 year old wash-up and broken down woman who lost her sense of purpose in her life or even the will to live, is unable to do anything about it as she just now a tired middle-aged woman who's rotting away...That is... until an "old friend" of hers appears at the doorstep, bringing with him a familiar package and a message for her... and everything changes.There's only one question remain:... Can Ruby rise up from the ashes like a phoenix and rediscover her great power to become the wolf once more to fight KOVIP? Or it is too heavy of a burden now...?





	1. Disturbed

As the rain of a ongoing decades-long storm consistly pound the pavement of the streets that was in the City of Vale with the wind shrieking their banshee voices and lightning flashing their images while thunder roar with their incredible powers.

A lone wolf with jet black fur scoured along the silent street, looking for something, anything that was edible, to eat... before it came upon a few children, a few that were human and one that was a faunus, no older than teenagers, painting a graffiti with their spray cans in the rain that never seem to stop, while the black wolf itself just silently watch them.

"Hurry up, Brack. Tag and bag."

"You rush this stuff. I'm like a modern day basquiet. Gonna wake those folks up. Get it with the rock stars-"

"Moss, you watching out for the-"

That was when the black wolf's senstive ears flicker with warning, hearding something that was coming into the alley, sensing that whatever it is was dangerous, before it immediately fled the area for its life... just as a boot stomp on one of the puddle, splashing the water in the puddle around.

The three teenagers just their head just in time to see a squad of troopers that were covered head-to-toe in stainless steel armors which were colored in an forest green with golden trims on them, instantly recongizing them of who are they part of.

" _KOVIP TROOPERS!!!_ "

"On the ground! You are in violation of the law of Vale! Put the contraband down and get on the ground. Do it now!"

However, the three teenagers knew better before they made a run for it, liking to died rather than be captured, leaving the alleyway... with a graffiti that said "CAN'T TAKE FREEDOM!!!!" on it.

The KOVIP troopers immediately give the chase before one of them, without any heistation, shoot and kill one of the three down with his M60 Machine Gun, riddling the human teenage boy with bullets, without mercy or even regret of what he have done. The two teenagers, the human and the faunus, didn't dare to look back without a second thought, as this was either life for them... or death for them, as they continue run down the streets with all of their mights they could muster, hoping that they would lose the trooper and wouldn't be dead... not just yet.

* * *

Coming out of a grocery store, a woman in a trench overcoat and wearing a flat cap, hiding her identity and looks from watching yes, walking into the continuious raining storm as she push the empty cart out of the store slowly, like a zombie... However, one of the teenages, all by complete accident, ran into her, knocking her down to the ground with the cart and, as a result, her flat cap was knock off... revealing black hairs with red highlight.

This woman was none other than Ruby Rose herself, the former Hunter-In-Training that went into Beacon Academy 2 years early who want to be a hero like many hunters that she'heard from the tales when she was little. However... Ruby Rose was now an just broken woman in her middle 40s, at least to be 45, with no sense of purpose in her life or not even the will to live... with her skin being milky white, her eyes now red with black sclera, and wolf-like ears on top of her head.

The teenagers continue to run for their own lives as Ruby was slowly picking herself up from the ground... before the KOVIP troopers themselves came looking for the running teenager before they saw Ruby.

"Hey look, boys! It's one of those Grimm soldiers!"

"You mean those grimm freaks from the 2nd Great War, boss?"

"Yep. How about we beat the crap of her since we're didn't catch those stupid kids?"

Agreeing with their squad leader, evidence by their own grins on their faces, the squad of KOVIP Troopers walk over to where Ruby is as she was trying to get up and processed to beat the former Grimm soldier up, kicking her body with their armored boots, breaking some parts of her body's anatomy from their kicks in the process, just because she was only a half grimm. Yet Ruby couldn't summon the will to fight back against the squad of KOVIP troopers or even the will to defead herself from them.

With one last kick to her body, the squad of KOVIP troopers left to search for one of the two teenagers, leaving Ruby down on the pavement in front of the store with some parts of her body broken, including her bleeding and broken nose, in the raining storm. That was when one of the customers of the store came out into the rain and help Ruby up from the ground. "Are you alright, miss?"

"I'll be okay." Ruby said, with a long-suffering and sading voice.

"They're getting more and more vicious and ruthless everyday."

"Don't worry... i'll live." Ruby said before she slowly walk away from the grocery store. As she walk down the street like a lost soul with the rain to continue to fall, she heard something before she slowly turn her head around and saw the teenager that accidentally knock right into her looking at her, with shock in her eyes.

"You just let them beat you? Why?" Ruby just look with silent before the teenager look down as he spoke with an upset tone in his voice. "There's no one out there to help us. No one to save us. Not Vacuo. Not Mistral. Not even Atlas. No one. Just... No one."

Ruby turn her eyes away from the teenager, avoiding his eyes, before she resume walking, walking down the street in shame, with the rain reflecting her mood, as she resigned to the fact that this was the world they live in now as lightnings continue flash among the dark black cloud of the sky.

* * *

_Meanwhile... somewhere else in the City of Vale..._

The tallest building, the height being 1/3 taller than the Burj Khalifa of our own world, that loomed over the city of Vale as it shadow over the city with its immersive presence, was the headquarter of the Kingdom Of Vale Isolatist Party Group or the K.O.V.I.P Group for short. On the highest floor of the KOVIP headquarter itself, the very office of the KOVIP Group, 2 men were eating streak for dinner before Orville Lior, leader of the KOVIP Group and therefore, the leader of Vale, spoke to his right-hand man. "I must thank you for the energy shield and their generators that you have built into this tower." Orville said. "Thanks to you, crime have pummel to near zero percent, and with the energy shield, no one can get in _or_ out, allowing us to control Vale's citizen like the bunch of worthless dogs that they all are. Thanks to that, we have complete control over the kingdom of Vale for over 15 years when we've won the vote before we suspend it. So I thank you... Dr. Merlot."

"Please. You don't need to thank me." Dr. Merlot, revealing to be Orville Lior's right-hand man and looking like he haven't age a bit when Team RWBY have met him, said with an smug smile on his face. "After all... I was just getting bored of what I was doing and have nothing else to do. And beside... if anyone does _tried_ to take over this building, the computer of this building, or just even an mere detonator, will actived all of its micro-thermial explosive that are implanted right into this building that are so powerful that are so powerful that will even tear apart a fine grain of sand or a drops of water." He said in an well pleased tone of voice before he took a bite out of his streak.

* * *

_Meanwhile... in the urban area of the city of Vale..._

In a house that was located in the urban area of the City of Vale, a normal family of just one father, one mother, and their three childrens, were unpacking the stuff they've brought from the grocery store before the mother ask to her middle child, her teenage daughter. "Phoinex, can you tell her that dinner is soon and she can join us? that we're going out tomorrow for a while?"

"Okay, mom!" Phoinex run out of the kitchen and ran up the stair until she got to the trap door that lead to the attic. She put her hand on it and open it before she walk up into the attic and turn her head. There, there was Ruby, looking outside from the window of the attic while sitting on her bed, which was just a mattress, in complete silent before Phoinex spoke to her. "Hey, Ruby? Mom said that dinner is soon and she want you to join us."

"Thanks." Ruby answer, with a causally yet depress tone of voice.

"And she said that we're going out tomorrow. So we don't know when we'll come back."

"Okay."

Phoenix look at Ruby with concern. "Ruby, are you alright."

"Don't worry... my aura will fix it, so i'll be alright."

Phoenix just look at her in silent before she walk back down to be with the rest of her own family. Ruby was silent before she let out a sorrowful sigh at the state that she was in as the memories flash in her eyes. Yes. She remember of how she came to be a determine hunter-in-training of yesterday to now a broken woman of today and she was not particularly fond of those memories... as they weren't happy ones: Due to the Fall of Beacon, it caused several event to unfold like domino pieces that were falling onto each other, leading to start of the most largest and most bloodest conflict that the world of Remnant have ever known... The Second Great War and let just say... it make the First Great War look tame by comparsion and it put every single conflicts that Remnant has ever known, including the First Great War, to shame... would be a pure _understandment_ of the century that made the world stood still.

The Second Great War lasted from 80 AGW to 90 AGW. During that time, the four Kingdoms; Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo, have fought against all four of each other, along with fighting within of each other kingdoms as well. There was no where safe and I mean, no where. Not Vacuo nor Atlas nor Menagerie itself. No where. No one was safe. Not human nor faunus. Absolutely no one was safe. And with result massive negative emotions that it caused, it had made the Creature of Grimm to be more powerful than ever and rewaking several of them that were sleeping for thousands and thousands of years. This have resulted in between 65% to 70% of the current population of the world of Remnant to be wipe clean off of the earth. Most of those numbers were all the village that were outside of the cities as they were all but destroyed by either a invading army of one of the kingdoms or the Grimms. It was a total war and everybody were losing control, resulting in an age of total and complete chaos, height with negative emotion in the air, and nobody could do a thing about it, not even a few of the council members of the 4 kingdoms.

And unfortunately for Ruby, she've join Vale's army... and she regreted that choice that she has made. When they were advertising that they want anyone to joined the Vale Army they could to take back Beacon Acadmey from the Grimm, she instantly join it, as she wanted to help people. However, she had found out in the first month of the year that it was really just a lie and when in reality, the Vale council just want to use the army just to kill out of zealous and patriotic revenge against who they've believe did cause the Fall of Beacon or just out of pure spite for the other kingdoms just to get attention, believing in the insanity of their own view of the world, even if they were family or friends, but by that point, it was already too late for Ruby to back out. From battlefield to battlefield, she was forced to kill those that she didn't want to and yet was forced to do it for over three or 4 years, which slowly eroded down her own morality along with her sanity, earning her the nickname of the "Red Death". Yet she didn't want to be part of this pointless conflict and wanted a way out of this needless slaughter of many innocent people so she could stop it...

Unfortunately for Ruby... the real world didn't out that way and _it_ wasn't tormenting her just yet...

Ruby was then forced to volunteer and join a project, against her own free will no less, that the Vale Army created. As it turn out, it was lead by none other than Dr. Merlot himself, much to Ruby's own shock by this, and it was reveal of what project was called and its true purpose. It was called Project LOST and its purpose: To create Super-Soldiers, as the Vale Council wanted an army of super-soldier to turn the tide of the Second Great War, by injecting of the cell,s of what the Grimm were made of, into a hunter's DNA, there by creating a powerful super-soldier that was far more powerful than and even exceed a Hunter. During the testing phase of the project, more than over 20 patiences that were Hunter or at least have Hunter training injecting with Grimm cells and were tested, but everytime, they've died one way or other and they were _not_ accident at all. Only the final patience survived the torturing testing process despite the intensity of it, the 21th patience, who was none other than Ruby Rose herself, resulting in the creation of the first Grimm Soldiers and the prototype of every single Grimm Soldiers that would appear in the Second Great War.

This have resulted in dramatically increasing her strength, speed, durability, agility, senses, aura, reaction time, and endurance that are beyond even for the abilites of the most hard-trained, refined, and powerful of hunters, along with her gaining new abilities like sensing negative emotions, a healing factor that is seperate from Ruby's aura, and is able to create crimson red/black lightnings from within her body, allowing her to attack with it by creating orbs made of them and able to charge herself into three stage that are more powerful than the last concentrating her mind into charging herself.

This have impressed Dr. Merlot and the other scientists so much that they've made Ruby the leader of every Grimm Soldier after her. However... she was at that point in time, due to the combination of so many thing that she didn't even ask for in her life change her so much that she was no longer Ruby Rose nor even the "Red Death" anymore. She was no longer either of those now worthless identities of her. Not anymore. Now... she've became the first Grimm Commander. The "Black Death" herself...

After her transformation into the first Grimm Commander have been completed, more recuit were tested in the same way that the first Grimm Commander was created. Soon, more than 725 volunteers, both human and faunus alike were injected with Grimm Cell, thrust creating more than 725 Grimm Soldiers, through not having the same abilites like Ruby and gaining their own kind of abilities, leading to the creation of an new battalion group for Vale's own Military Army: The SS (Super-Soldier) Battalion Unit.

When an Grimm Soldier is unleashed onto the battlefield, they have the aggressive and the ruthless nature of the Grimm combine with the skills and abilities that were the equivalent of a more extreme version of an Hunter and were able to fight a whole battalion of Hunters or even Paladin mechs by their own. They were the ultimate example of a supersoldier.

Thanks to this, this have allow the SS Battalion Unit win numerous battle and kill thousands upon thousands of soliders for over 5 years, allowing to turn the tide of many battles when they are deploy into... physically speaking.

However, they didn't turn the tide of war as much as Vale council have hope for as they were mentally unstable and unpredictable due to their Grimm hybrid nature, the hell-like training they've endured, and the fact they were treated as only war dogs. This resulted them in either committing suicide or their own aura going into a total meltdown, resulting in SBC or Spontaneous Body Combustion, from loss of control, or from other related causes. At the end of the Second Great War, about 85% of the SS Battalion were dead and only small part of them were killed in battle, with about 5% of them being MIA or mysterious disappear right after the war, along with Dr. Merlot himself, lab data and all, and Ruby was part of the only 10% that have been confirm to survived the end of the war.

The Second Great War have finally ended when a group of hunter, lead by Lie Ren, who have lost Nora Valkyrie in the war due to a massive seperant-like Grimm killing her thanks to the massive negative emotions, broadcasting the message all over the world by using the now repaired CCT, revealing that the whole event of the Fall of Beacon was then orchestrated by someone else and was use as an excuse by those who wanted to start the war out of various reasons.

After the war, Project LOST and the SS Battalion were terminated and the scientists that work on Project LOST were executed in sercet, mainly due to the loss of Dr. Merlot with the data that he gather and due to the SS Battalion being associated with the Second Great War.

By the age of 25, Ruby have became a broken woman after the end of the Second Great War thanks to it, and now having nothing to her name. Absolutely nothing. Most of her family members that she know of, her father and her uncle and her dog Zwei, were now all but dead and her friend are either dead, now hate her, were too far away to help her, or other reasons they couldn't help her.

She was all alone. Alone with her broken mind, living on the streets of Vale in an world that hate her for what she is.

She tried many attempt to find a job, at least one good job, but they've all rejected her due to her being part grimm. Luckily, she was found by the owner of "From Dust till Dawn" shop, the same one that she saved from the robbery from years ago. He decide to hire Ruby as a night-shift worker and allowing to live at the shop, in gratitude for her saving his shop 20 years ago before and sympathy for her current situation. Ruby have work, and live, in his shop for over 5 years... until his suddenly and tragic death.

Due to his death, the From Dust Till Dawn shop was closed and Ruby lost her job, forcing her back to living on the street. She was already 30 years old when she lost her job. It was also at the same time that the KOVIP group won the majority of their vote, allowing them to take control of the entire kingdom of Vale and cutting off their borders from the outside world, leaving anyone inside of Vale to be struck.

For another 5 years, living on the street, Ruby was forced to scour and scavenge any kind of foods she can find, all while enduring the beating and kicking from the merciless troopers of the KOVIP group. This lasted for over 5 years, which made her about 35 year old by that point, before she was found by a kind family and was tooking in by them... out of kindness.

It was already 10 years ago when she was tooking in by them.

Ruby was silent before she let out a sorrowful sigh. She wonder to herself... Why did this all happen to her? Did she really deserved all of this? Or the world was just tormenting her just to be amused and entertainment from her pain?

Ruby remain silent of those question in her mind as she watch the pounding rain slowly turn to falling snow... thinking that she saw one of the ghosts from her bloody past dancing among the falling snowflake of the cold...

* * *

_Later... much later... a day later at night..._

A pair of two KOVIP troopers were talking to each other about the thing that they were doing on their jobs, standing around in the same urban area while the snow was falling. "-This kid start crying like a baby. So I _treated_ him like one, ya know?"

"Whattaya mean?"

That was when a crazy hobo, albert finely-dressed hobo, due to him wearing an jacket with a fur hood and blue jeans, who was passing by the pair of KOVIP troopers while holding what appear to be a normal briefcase in his right arm, was shouting insults and throwing taunts at them. "Pissant! Morons!"

"Well, I tear down his pant and get out the paddle."

"You didn't!"

"Damn right, I _did_. Right there in that room."

"Rejects! Liars! Monkeys! Meat puppets!" The crazy hobo shouted before he spit out his spit onto the streets just to spite and insult them, which angers one of the pair of KOVIP troopers by this.

"You spitting on my streets, you damn hobo?!"

"Easy, man. He's just a crazy hobo. What the _worst_ he could do? So then I get this bottle. Fill it full of milk."

"No."

"Hell yeah. Then I heat it up to a full boil. Scalding."

"He scream?"

"I told ya. Like a baby."

The pair of KOVIP troopers laugh at that as they ignored the crazy hobo while he was walking toward one of the houses in the area.

However... this was _same_ house that Ruby was living in...

* * *

_Meanwhile... Inside of the house..._

Ruby was sleeping on the couch while the clock was ticking. Everything inside of the house was silent except for the clock that was consistly ticking and tocking... before Ruby started to stir and rolled over on the couch, as if she was trying to get comfortable. Once. Twice. and Thice. Before she finally stop moving... and Ruby slowly opening her eyes... to see a ghostly mist that was floating right above her. Ruby remain quiet of what she is seeing before a part of the mist suddenly move downward and start forming what appear to be a hand... a female looking hand. Before making a motion, as if trying to grasp something.

Ruby was silent at this before she rise her hand from blanket and when she attempt to grasp it, the mist suddenly dispersed, disappering out of thin air. She remain silent of this, not sure of what just happen, if her mind was trying to play trick with her or what she saw was real.

She remain silent as she dwell on that thought... before she then heard knocking on the door, which cause Ruby to let out a groan as she got up from the couch.

"Hold on. I'm coming. I'm coming. Do you what time it is?" Ruby groan as she walk over to the door. However, when she open the door, preparing to talk whoever was knocking, Ruby just stood in the doorway in shock... as she look directly at an very familiar blunt-orange hair and into a pair of indigo-colored eyes looking at her back.

"Ruby? It's snowing. A sign that times are changing here." It was no mistake. Ruby recongized that voice, although much deeper and rougher than before... as it belong to none other than Cardin Winchester, the former bully of 1st year from Beacon Academy, was now 47 years old, sporting an full beard on his face and his hair was more messy and unkempt than before with his eyes looking slight worn down from the years and a bit insane from the looks of them. She just stood there in shock and silence in the doorway as Cardin put down the briefcase he was carrying to the side of the doorway before he spoke to Ruby. "You... look... i'm not gonna lie to you, you look like crap. But it's good to see you, Ruby. Nice place you have. Look at us now. Just two former hunter-in-training. Two middle-aged adults now. Ruby! Bet you never thought you'd see the biggest jackass bully of all Beacon Academy himself barking at your doorway? Back from the mountain? Ruby. Look at that face of yours. Didn't think you could age a bit. Thought you'd be young forever. It's been a long time. So much to talk about. Catch up. You from hear from one of our classmate? All them moved out of the city long ago. You were the only stupid. Well, you and _me_. Hey, Ruby? Ruby?"

Ruby just stood at the doorway in complete silence... before her right hand reach for the very handle of the door and closed it in front of Cardin. She heard him sighed from behind the door before he told her.

"I came a long way to see you, Ruby. We have things to talk about. _Big_ things. I didn't expect you to welcome me with open arms. No. No, of course not." Cardin said before he slowly turn around and slowly walk away as he told her. "But Ruby... we have history. We- ... Open the briefcase, Ruby. I've been _holding_ it for you for a long time."

Ruby was in complete silence as she slowly down the door until she sat completely down on the floor before the briefcase topple over and drop to the floor to its side, right near to her. Her eyes slowly turn toward briefcase, as if it was calling to her, hauntly calling by her origial name...

"Damn these bastard! Taking over the kingdom like the goddamn disgusting flith that are... these... DAMN! MONKEY! LIARS! VILLIANS!"

* * *

Ruby slowly, but surely pick up the briefcase with her own shakely hands...

* * *

"Listen, Ruby! We have work to do! THIEVES! SNAKES!" Cardin rambled out loud as he then open up his own jacket... and got out his old mace, slightly rusted from not being wheted for a long time, before he walk over to the nearest parked car, more specifically, a black Dodge Super Bee.

* * *

Ruby quietly look at the briefcase before she slowly open it up with her quivering fingers...

* * *

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! DAMN IT, RUBY! WICKED! WICKED! WAKE UP! YOUR LIARS!" Cardin rambled on out loud with his words as he begun to trashing the black Dodge Super Bee with his mace.

* * *

Ruby's red eyes were filled with shock of what she saw of what was inside of the briefcase...

* * *

That was when the same pair of KOVIP troopers from before notice that Cardin was trashing a muscle car with his mace. "Hey. That harmless crazy hobo is destroying property."  
"CROOKS! GILMONGERS! KILLERS!"

"All right, old timer. Put down the mace." One of KOVIP troopers told Cardin as they walk over to him to arrest the rambling hobo.

"Here you come. I was _expecting_ you. You won't catch me. Infect me." Cardin spouted out with insults and taunts at them. As he was ready to face one-on-two by himself.

* * *

Laying right inside of the briefcase Ruby was hold... was Crescent Rose in its inactive form, her beloved weapon, and her beloved cloak, both of now dyed black, were the very 2 things that were connected to her and her past identity, long before she threw them away long time ago, after her transformation into a Grimm Soldier...

* * *

_WHAM!_

Cardin then whack the first KOVIP trooper that was near him with his mace, making an dent in the armor of the helmet, much to the amusement of the second KOVIP trooper, not caring for his other friend. "OH GOOD, this is great!"

"Tie me down? Push the blackness inside of me? I _know_ who you are! I know _what_ you are doing!" Cardin yelled out as he rambled on. "LIARS! LIARS! CROOKED LIARS!"

* * *

Ruby see that they were black now, no longer the rose-colored red that they were before she thrown them away. She was in complete silent before her red eyes look over to the shining bladed metal of Crescent Rose...

* * *

"Alright, ginger. Playtime's over." The second KOVIP trooper said as the first KOVIP trooper was still dizzy from Cardin's mace hitting his head.

_SLAM!_

"Playtime? FIGHT! Wake up and fight!" Cardin yelled out before he then bash his mace right into the second KOVIP trooper's face as he bellow out Ruby's name. " _RUBY!!!!!!_ "

* * *

When she took a look at the mirror-like shining blade of her own beloved Crescent Rose, the weapon that she created with her hands, Ruby briefly saw the image of her once 15 year old self with a confidence smile on her face before it was replace by the image of her current 45 year old broken self on her weapon's mirror-like blade.

* * *

"Stupid crazy hobo." The second KOVIP trooper growled, seething with anger as his nose was bleeding.

"This isn't gonna be a good night... for you at least." The first KOVIP troopers grunted as he cracked his shoulder.

"Thieves... Crooks... Wake... UP!" Cardin yelled before he swung his mace at them.

* * *

Ruby see that the blade have eyes... Yes. It has eyes. She look into those eyes of the blade of her Crescent Rose... and all she see was herself. Tired. Broken. Shattered. Rotting away by the years. She was nothing... All before she felt a ghostly hands touch the cheeks of her face and whisper to her ears as the will of something that she didn't felt for _years_ now was rising up from the deep bottom of her heart like a eruption of a volcano...

The clock strike one. _Hickory... Dickory... Dock..._

* * *

Cardin frought on against the two KOVIP troopers with all of his might as he swing his mace at them, denting their armor and maining their body underneath, while taking a several amount of beating from them before one of them punch him in the face, sending him down across the snowy ground itself as one of them seeth. "Are you _finished_ , old man? Are you _though_?"

"I will never know when i'm through..." Cardin said as he look up at them dead in the eye... before he grin madly as he chuckle. "But the Grim Reaper is never _through_ with _anyone_."

They were confused by what he meant by that just before the first KOVIP trooper spoke. "The hell are you-" His words, however, were cut short when there was sound of a gun firing its shell before its bullet came through into his throat, cutting off of what he was about to said and leaving to died a slow and painful death from the coldnes of the snow.

"What the hell?!" The second KOVIP trooper said before he turn his head... and saw Ruby herself standing right in the middle of the snow-covered road, now wielding Crescent Rose in her hands as smoke came from its barrel and wearing her cloak as her face was hidden by the shadow of her hood. He immediately got out his pistol as he boasted out at her. "YOU! We chased _your kind_ out of this city a long time ago!"

"Maybe so, but here's the thing..." Ruby said before she transformed Crescent Rose into its Scythe Form. "I'm _no_ Hunter..."

Ruby charged right at him with her beloved weapon. The second KOVIP trooper fired all of his pistol's bullet at the incoming reaper, but she dodge all of them, like an haunting phantom dancer in a old stage play of a theater... before she came right up to him and swung Crescent Rose at him, sliting his throat. He choke as he slowly dead from his wound...

Her memory briefly flash of when she made her first kill, her first kill of a humanoid being, on the first battlefield she fought in the Second Great War. Ruby just shook her head to get out of the flashes of her memories before she then couch down and stared Cardin directly right into his eyes as he look back at her in silent before he spoke.

"Ruby... I found your things at some garage sale place. _Still_ give me the creeps. I look at those things that belong to you and all I see is the past." Cardin said before he let out a chuckle as he told Ruby about it. "It's funny really. I was an arrogance asshole back then. A arrogance asshole who bully people that are weaker than me just because I was a Hunter-In-Training, I thought I was far more better than everyone else, I thought I was _special_ , and I let everyone know about it through my bullying on them as they couldn't do anything about it. Then the Second Great War started... and I felt it. I have felt it and realized this is how everyone that I bully felt because of it, but by a million times. After the war have ended... I wanted to make up of what I done. I wanted to atone of what me and my buddy did. I wanted redeemed myself to them. I wanted _redemption_. I wanted a miracle. I'd _asked_ for a miracle, any kind of miracle really... and the funny part about it? The stupid universe _gave_ me one. It's funny. The universe itself seem to torture you to no ends... until it give you the miracle that you needed it. It's pretty funny. And that is why i'm _here_. I need you. The _city_ need you. The entire kingdom that is suffering needs _you_. Can I count on you? What do you say...?"

Ruby give her answer... by punching Cardin right in the face, knocking him out cold as he laid, temperory, unconscious on the snowly ground. She got up from the ground... all before Ruby disappearing among the falling snow as it slowly turn into a blizzard before lightning flashes across the sky...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This story was inspired by Spider-Man: Reign (hind the title) and Darkest Shade of Red by Angry_Face.  
> Holy crap... this is one of the best stories that i've made yet. But there still one thing that you didn't know about... I left out a few details in Ruby's past. What are they? You'll have to wait and find out.  
> Also, I have now over 9900 or 10000 hits for this year of 2018... Yep, it's over 10000


	2. 10000 Fists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nursey rhythems weren't created for children. Their intent was never to sooth little babies or teach children finger games and language...  
> They were warnings. Warnings sang by their elders too scared to openly criticized those kings and queens that ruin their world with a iron fist centuries and centuries ago.  
> Warnings to the children... in hope that their parent might listen.  
> For centuries, children have been entertained by the warning of their scared elders. So listen closely, children. Listen for tonight's rhyme...

"Liars! Convict! Sinners! WAKE UP!" Cardin rambled on while he shouted out loud to every person, humans and faunus, that were on the streets as it continue to snow upon the city of Vale. " _LOOK UP!_ The heavens are full nothing but lying worms! And they have awakened _THE BEAST!!!!_ " The 47 years old man bellowed out to the falling sky, while throwing newspaper to them, as the people that were walking down the street stop to listen to him as he spoke out to them, with many children, boys and girls, humans and faunus, of every teenage age were helping him by passing out the newspapers to anyone who want to read them. "THE CITY IS ASLEEP! Can you hear the very calling for the will of freedom? _WAKE UP!_ THE TRUTH IS IN THE _PRINT!_ "

"Grab a copy, mister! Do ya 'hear?" One of the children who were helping Cardin ask one of the many denizens that were passing by before he show him the newspaper, revealing the picture of Ruby in her black cloak and wielding Crescent Rose on it. "One of 'em Hunter are _back!_ "

Soon, this was reported in the news, with news casters stating that KOVIP group are asking the citizens of Vale to report any future sighting of him and are also asking for any illegal printed material to be turn into the authorities of KOVIP for destruction.

But _this_ was Cardin's plan all along. To get the people of Vale their attention. To wake them up from their ignorance. To make them no longer covering their eyes. To make them see the reality of the world they are in. To give them a miracle. To give them faint of being free from their cages that make feel trapped like birds...

* * *

 

_Meanwhile... in the office room of the KOVIP building..._

A squad of four KOVIP troopers were standing among the walls, right beside the pair of doors themselves, to guard it... before Orville Lior slam them open as he and Dr. Merlot walk into his office, outraged by what is happening and the situation that they were in, but is mainly enrage by _what_ he saw on the tapes. "It _can't_ be! Not now! That she's now a $%?$%?$ _OLD WORTHLESS DOG!!!_ "

"You've _seen_ the tape, sir." Dr. Merlot said, as he remained calm the light of this rather recent development, as he spoke to Orville. "While Cardin did at least manage to particulary wound them, that " _old worthless dog_ " you've just mention just took 2 heavily-armed KOVIP troopers down with _ease_ despite her not being _upkeep_ for a such long time. Which doesn't suprise _me_ at all to say the least of this, considering that they _did_ both train at Beacon Academy and _were_ hunter-in-training in the past, evidence by Beacon's history reconds, but still... _she_ , on other hand, haven't been in action _or_ even train for over 20 years already. _20 years_ , Orville. That's a long time frame when you look at it."

"Mobilize all units! I don't care how many, but mobilize them!"

"The KOVIP troopers have proven _ineffective_ as well as being equally _incompetent_ , sir."

"THEN WHAT DO YOU THAT WE _DO_ , MERLOT?! SIT ON OUR TAIL ENDS AND JUST HOPE THAT SHE WANDERS OFF THE RANCH??!! _HUH_???!!!" Orville shouted in Dr. Merlot's face with rage itself seething through his voice before he begun hyper-ventilating to calm down his already tensive nerves.

Dr. Merlot, however, remain calm of this before he spoke to Orville. "Calm down _and_ relax, sir." He said before he told him. "No, sir. We cannot allow _anything_ to disrupt our rule of this kingdom. I suggest that we must accelerate this to a much more... _effective_ soluation. After all, to catch a old _wolf_ , you must first release some _preys_ for it to _hunt_." He said. Then he told the same squad of KOVIP troopers that were guarding the office room. "Escort us to the vault, soldiers." The squad of KOVIP troopers did what they are told as they escort Dr. Merlot and Orville to the pair of elevator doors before it slide open for them. They walk into the elevator before the door closed behind them and the elevator start to go down to the lowest level of the KOVIP group building. "In times of _trouble_ , people look for someone who is the _highest_ in charge. They're looking at _you_. You are responsible for this kingdom. You must show them your strength, sir. There _is_ no else. And after all, with great responsible comes great _power_."

That was when the elevator finally stop at their destination; The vault, the lowest level of the KOVIP group building, and was hidden righ breath it, far below the prying eyes of the surface level of the ground above. The elevator doors slide open for them and the squad of KOVIP troopers walked out in front first before turning around and standing still like statues as Dr. Merlot and Orville walk out of the elevator.

When they've enter the vault, far breath the KOVIP Group Building, they see two cube-shape objects of the rectangle varity, sitting side-by-side of each other, with one that was glowing gold and the other glowing purple. Orville was shocked of what he saw before he ask his 2nd-in-command. "Dr. Merlot. What are _those_?"

"These... are the Containment Soul Units, containing the souls of Salem and Ozpin, or would I say, Oz _ma_." Dr. Merlot answered Orville's question before he told him and explain it to him. "They were humans that were cursed with the magic of immortality. Different forms for sure, but immortality nonetheless. They were obsessive and determinate of trying to destroy each other, despite being once lovers at one pont or another, for countless of centuries, maybe even for countless of millennia, no matter how long or high the cost was they were willing to make. However..." His calm and neutral expression on his face suddenly soon turn into a grin at this at what he remember from his memories as he continue to explain it. "Despite them being immortal beings, they are _still_ human beings. So if you take away all of their 5 senses; Their sense of sight. smell. hearing. touch. And even taste. Making them unable to see. Hear. Smell. Touch. Or taste? And leaving them _aware_? That will make even the most _determinate_ of souls to falter under the intense pressure of the loneliness of their isolated and confined prison from outside world to the point their mind will break _and_ shattered. Of course, I had to wait for a while for their mind to finally break, but it was worth the _wait_. So when their minds shattered, I'd _extracted_ the information from their now broken mind of the countless of years of knowledge _and_ experience from them. By using their knowledge, along with the data i've collect from Project LOST itself, I have created _something_ far more superior _and_ better than the Grimm Soldiers of Project LOST _themselves_. I created them. I created _these_."

With a mere press of a button from his scroll, Dr. Merlot turn on 5 lights, revealing 5 different people, with their eyes being no emotion, not even their face bare of it, as all 5 of them were nothing but true cyborgs, a being with both organic and bomechatronic body parts, while the lights themselves were shoning on their metallic bodies, before several robotic arms, similar to those of articulated industrial robotic arm use in factory, were lower from the ceilings just before they begun to put pieces of their specific armors, about five, on them.

"These are the _volunteers_. Saviors looking to smite the sinners. Your _angels_." Dr. Merlot have continue to explain with a confidence look on his face as he told Orville. "I've been _planning_ for something like this, sir. Look at the hunger in their eyes. They are a squad of true cyborgs, a being that have both organic and bomechatronic body parts. All 5 of them. The Anti-Hunter Suppression Unit, or AHS Unit for short, sir."

Smiling at this, Dr. Merlot shown Orville the information of the 5 cybernetic members of the AHS Unit on his scroll;

JOAT-JA-30M: Formerly Jaune Arc. Wear the R2186 Knight Armor excluding the helmet part and wield an heated-edged Longsword and shock-absorbing shield develop from his own previous weapon, Crocea Mors. Designed as an jack-of-all-trade combat cyborg and designate leader of the AHS unit himself. His semblance allow him to amplify his aura to enhance his aura's defensive abilities.

([X](http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Reckoner_Knight_Armor))

GC-AT-1991SN: Formerly Adam Taurus. Wear the Blood Dragon-475 Armor and use his own weapons, Blush and Wilt, now reinforce with titanium. Designed as am glass cannon combat cyborg. His semblance allow him to absorb or block the energy from an enemy attack before emitting back through his weapons.

([X](http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Dragon_Armor))

FS-HM-J1364: Unknown former name. Wear the RG(Royal Guard)-O31 Armor and she wield a energy sword katana that emit a katana blade-shaped plasma energy from its hilt as its blade. Designed as an Fragile Speedster combat cyborg. Her semblance is to create physical-base illusions of mental hallucinations.

([X](https://www.deviantart.com/fonteart/art/Royal-Guard-643241471))

MG-ON3-216: Formerly Apollo. Wear the FOX-01-4 Power Armor that ampify his own electric abilites and have no weapons thanks to this. Designed as an Mighty Glacier combat cyborg. His semblance to create eletricity from within his own body.

([X](https://fallout.gamepedia.com/X-01_power_armor))

LG-H449-295: Formerly Carbine. Wear the Chade Armor that transformed along with his body. Designed as Lightning Bruiser combat cyborg. His semblance allow him to transform his body into a humanoid-shape body made of water.

([X](http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Cerberus_Shade_Armor))

"And if you were probably wondering... don't worry, sir. They've been already tested and have already did several missions, all of which they pass successively." Dr. Merlot said as he change the screen of his scroll to show Orville of who the AHS Unit killed for him;

Arthur Watts: Died from a explosion caused by a dust chemical reaction.

Tyrian Callows: Died from being torn apart into two pieces.

Cinder Falls: Died from an eletrically-charged blast that turn of what remain of her body into ashes. Although the powers of the Fall Maidan wasn't successive retrieved.

Glynda Goodwitch: Been worn down from consistly using her semblance before she was then killed all at once.

Qrow Branwen: Died when he attempt to escape a fight in his Crow form before he was shot down and killed when he was slash in half.

Taiyang Xiao Long: Died from the total meltdown of his aura when his semblance was over used.

"That's quite enough details now Now, it's _time_ to get to work." Dr. Merlot said. "Let's see if this old wolf can still _bite_ back?"

* * *

 

_Later that night..._

The teenage human boy who ran into Ruby, Jared, was reading the newspaper that he got from the ground , that Cardin and teenage children that were working with him threw, while standing on the street with the cloud still snowing... before it was grabbed one of the KOVIP troopers. "Place the contraband on the ground! Clean-up crew are being dispatched."

" _HEY!_ What're you _doing_ -"

SMACK!

Jared was smack across the face, sending him across the snowy ground, by the KOVIP trooper as he shouted at him. "My _job_ , kid. This trash is illegal."

"You're lucky we don't throw you scrawny ass in jail. Maybe spend some time in there with you... heh."

The pair of KOVIP troopers chuckle at this as they continue to walk down the street. Jared just glared at them, his eyes oozing with hatred of them. That was when he had suddenly heard a giggle and turn his head to see a well-dress lady with a nice-looking bowler hat and an open umbrella in her right hand, leaning against the wall of the dark alley, while looking at Jared with an amused smile on her face before her scroll-phone appear in her left hand as it flash to him, which read...

" _Hey kid. If you wondering, my name's Neopolitan, but just call me Neo for short. I look at you and I see that you see a cage in this city. Since you look like you don't know where to go, how about you follow me into this alleyway to someone who see the cages as well? If you want a friend that is..._ "

With that, Neo flip her scroll-phone around for a few times before it disapper out of thin air and walk down into the darkness of the alleyway. Deciding that he doesn't have any better opinions anyway, Jared decide to follow Neo down into the dark alleyway, while snow were still falling from the dark clouds above...

* * *

 

Inside the attic of the house, as it was still snowing outside, Ruby was sitting on her mattress, alone in the room, wondering. Wondering about the past. Wondering about if he was right. Wondering if Roman was right about the world itself before he died from being eaten by a Griffon right in front of her.

She wonder if he was right about the world, due to his older and greater experience of the real world, despite being one of the cause for the Fall of Beacon. She wonder to herself that he was probably right about the real world itself despite refusing to believe it, due to her being so naive back then of how the real world work and believing in the old tales that she heard, back when she was a child... all before she saw the horrors of wars.

The horrors of the Second Great War.

It made her wonder now. Was she too naive back then? Was she too stubborn to see how the real world look like before she saw in full colors during the Second Great War? Could she stop herself from joining the Vale Army if she saw of how it work?

Ruby's head was filled with many unanswer questions. Questions that will never answered. All while she see a hauntly beautiful ghost was dancing right in front of her as she sat on her bed...

* * *

 

Jared following after Neo as they walk down the dark alleyway before they've finally came to a massive tower that loom over them with its towering 78 meters (or 256 feets) height, a tower that resemble the combination of the Generation 1 and 3 Flak Towers that were used in World War II of our world, one of the many towers of its kind that were design, build, and use during the _First_ Great War that ot survive through and even being used while also surviving through the Second Great War. The reason that they were still standing proudly with its 11-foot thick concrete structure today was not just because the demoliting building was not KOVIP group's interests, but one of the many various reasons being the cost of such operations, but mainly because demolition of them were difficult to accomplish even when carefully plan as they 3 or 5 or even _10_ attempts with more than 5 month of preparations and therefore were considered to be not feasible. Thanks to this, it have stand over the city of Vale with its massive size for more than 100 to 110 years of its existance.

Neo and Jared the enter the Great Wars Towers and walk down the stairs that lead them to a pair of doors that lead to the giant basement of the towers with its concrete wall just as thick as the tower above being once use as a warehouse and a bombshelter. That was when the brown and pink-haired criminal herself put her umbrella underneath her arm and open the door for the homeless teenager, which of that made him shock of what he saw with his own eyes.

There.... there it was. Inside of the massive basement itself... was countless and countless numbers of people, both humans and faunus themselves, of every single age alike, that were so much that Jared can't even count how many they were. Were there a dozen? A 100? Maybe even a _1000_ of them? Jared can't be sure of how many they were.

However, there was a couple of people that stood out from the crowd that Jared, either there to help Cardin's resistance, the FAVOR (Freedom for All Vale Organization) Resistance or with their own reason for helping them: Team CVFY, helping the FAVOR Resistance to free Vale. Neo, helping the FAVOR Resistance by funding them and their operations inside the city of Vale with her connections to the black market. Hazel Rainart, with Ozpin now gone from the earth and Salem's group is mostly gone too, he decide to join up with FAVOR to help them to free Vale, with his hair now starting to grey a bit. Emerald Sustrai, mainly helping them to get revenge on Dr. Merlot, and by extant, KOVIP, for Cinder's death. Mercury Black, because he had nothing else better to do. Lieutenant, the former White Fang member who have joined with FAVOR for the same as Team CVFY and Hazel. Doctor Bartolomew Oobleck and Professor Peter Port, althrough the years were not kind to them, they were quite fit of being Hunters despite their ages. And along with those two was a AK-217-F14 TAMC (Tactical Adviser Moblie Computer) varient, basically a Altesian Knight with a large box-shape backpack on its back, as it were typing on a laptop computer with Peter and Dr. Oobleck watching.

... Although there was snoring sounds that was coming from an refurished Beacon Locker that was sitting against the concrete wall at the back of the basement...

Jared then saw Cardin himself, standing behind a lentern, like those use in churches, with the aforemention 3 sitting beside him and the lenturn, before he begun his speech.

"The _heavens_ are black and soots! They've forced us undergound! To _hide_ the bells! Because they _fear_ them! Because they are the thing that will hurt them!" Cardin spouted his speech as he spoke out loud to everyone in the room of the basement itself. "But this piece of metal on top of this tower is _just_ that! The true sounds of life ring in each and every one of you! Your grandparents and even your own parents got scared and locked you up in this massive city of imprisonment. I ran away before they could throw me in with you. All the way up the Mt. Glenn itself because I was _afraid_ , too. Afraid to take _respondibility_. And from that _mountain_ of red, I watch them construct a cursed tower to watch over you. And _from_ that mountain of red, I watched them create a _door_ at the _top_ of that cursed tower! It was then that I knew I had to come back. To help free the many imprison lives that are trapped in like a flock of birds that are trapped in a cage of physical forces. He's gathering them outside of this cage to feast on your souls. The Creatures of _Grimm_ themselves. You want _safety_? You want _peace_? You don't look for someone else. You look _inside_. Because when you give away personal responsibility, you give away personal _power_. Well tonight, _we're taking it back!_ How? We're take it back with one voice. _Yours_. And if you stand beside me, that voice turns to two. And the person beside you make three. And the more we stand beside each other, the stronger that voices become... until it's a chorus of will! AND NO LAW HAS EVER WITHSTOOD SUCH A VOICE!!!!!!!"

Everyone then hollered out with raging and powerful voices, agreeing with Cardin's word and his speech, as they will never take the voices of their will.

Jared was struck by the sight of 1000 of fists. No... _10000_ fists in the air. It was at that point he realized that faith is not just believing yourself, but the faith is also the other name of having the strength to conquer the fears within you. That is _what_ make Cardin's speech powerful.

That was when Cardin spoke to the AK-217-F14 TAMC. "Mix-Tape Fritz, it's time to hack into the Vale New Network. It's time to _raise_ your _voice_."

"Understood." Mix-Tape Fritz, the name of this particular AK-217-F14 TAMC, said before the robot type into the laptop and start hacking into the system of VNN...

* * *

 

The news and message that the Vale New Network were broadcasting throughout the city of Vale itself were interrupted as they're hack into before they were replaced with the picture of Ruby as Cardin's voice spoke out to the city of Vale, awaking them from their sleep into seeing the truth of what is actually going on.

" _LIARS! LIARS AND THIEVES!! ALL OF THEM!!! WAKE UP! LOOK UP! THEY TRIED TO FOOL US ALL! WAKE UP!! LOOK TO THE TRUTH!!! THE TRUTH IS COMING!!!! SHE HIDE AMONG US! WITNESS THE TRUTH! SHE HIDE AMONG US!! WITNESS THE TRUTH!! SHE HIDE AMONG US!!! WITNESS THE TRUTH!!!_ "

Soon, everyone in the city of Vale were outside while it was still snowing, listening to the broadcasting of FAVOR Resistance, particularly in the Urban area of the city itself. The KOVIP troopers, along the dozens of many types of military tanks, refurished Paladin series mechs, and Bullhead VTOLs that are deployed with them, tried to disperse the crowd of the people in the area. However, one of them retaliated, igniting a riot that caused the people to attack the KOVIP troopers. They soon responded in kind as they begun firing on them with their guns on them, their tanks, and their VTOLs, while the mechs stomp and smash anyone, with zero mercy or regret as they killed dozen and dozen of people that were in the way.

This whole thing was watched by Cardin, Jared, and an few hundred members of the FAVOR Resistance that were with him outside of their base of operation, with Jared holding a video camera to showcase this. Showcasing the brutality of the KOVIP group.

This made Jared realized with horror of how just merciless and ruthless the KOVIP troopers are. They don't care if innocent civilians, human or faunus, get in the way while they were shooting down their targets. They don't care of who gets in the way, even if it meant dozens and dozens, maybe even more, of people, both human and faunus, died from them. They were no longer human nor faunus. They were now monsters. They were nothing more but monsters now. Monsters that were in human and faunus skins. Monsterous as the Creature of Grimm themselves.

Cardin then spoke Jared and the other children with them as he put his hand on his shoulder. with an grim expression written on his face. "This is just the opening act. Watch _closely_ , kids. You're about to _learn_ something. You'll learn that containing the people's free will is just like containing a bomb, or _rather_ , a volcano. You can fight it all you want, but you _cannot_ contain a volcano as it _will_ erupt as _it_ is a force of nature. _Something_ that you cannot contain, no matter _what_ you do. And people's free will are no different. That is the lesson that the Kingdom of Mantle and many other like them _failed_ to learn, and the KOVIP group will be joining them..."

* * *

 

Ruby was looking at herself in the mirror in the attic, with her wearing her beloved cloak on her shoulder and her Crescent Rose behind her back in its unactive form. Despite them being hers, she felt that they weren't right.

She close her eyes and let out a calm sigh at this, knewing that the years have change her so much more than she originally thought. So much so that her beloved cape and weapon don't feel the same despite not being any different from the last time that she saw them a long time ago.

After briefly remembering the memories of her transformation into a Grimm Soldier during the Second Great War, she open her red eyes once again... and saw a snow white ghost. The same snow white ghost that was hauntly beautiful. The same hauntly beautiful snow white ghost that consistently haunt her dreams during the nights that she sleep. The same hauntly beautiful snow white ghost that have consistently haunt her vision of when she seeing things in the snow falling from the grey clouds themselves, reminding of what she did during the days of the Second Great War. The same hauntly beautiful snow white ghost that was looking out of the window of the attic despite the slat window blinds covering them... shortly before it slowly disappear into a long vaporizing and cold mist...

Curious. Curious of what the ghost itself was looking at, Ruby walk over to the window blinds and took a peak of what it was looking at, looking at what was outside...

... Ah, it was looking at the several dozens and dozens of KOVIP troopers with tanks, mechs, and VTOLs that were station and standing just outside of the house itself, heavily-armed to the teeth with many kind of weapons like guns, cannons, rocket launchers, missiles, and laser weapons, aiming straight at the house itself. Oh, that's explain it all...

" _Target_ spotted!"

"Gentlemens, prepare to knock on that door!"

"... _FIRE AWAY!!!!_ "

Soon, thousands upon thousands of bullets coming from guns, dozens upon dozens of shells coming from cannon, dozens upon dozens of rocking projectile coming from rocket launchers and missiles alike, and several upon several streaks of lights coming from the laser weapons, all being fired at once from the troopers, tanks, mechs, and VTOls as they all descend upon the house, complete obliterating it, leaving nothing left... until it all but became a smoking hot crater of destruction with dense-covering smoke coming from it...

"... You think we got her?"

He got his answer... when a shot was heard before the bullet came through his throat, killing him instantly. Ruby then ascended from the hot mist of the crater, with her hood now on, hiding her facial feature, and with her beloved Crescent Rose in its Rifle form in her hands while its barrel was still smoking from its shot, and landed right in front of several KOVIP troopers. Before they even could react tp this, Ruby transformed her weapon into its Scythe form and use Crescent Rose to cut open their throats, killing instantly from their grashing wounds as blood just shewed from them, raining upon the snow as the white turn red with crimson.

Every single KOVIP troopers, tanks, mechs, and VTOLs immediately aimmed and focus all of their weapons on her and open fire as they focus it right on Ruby, which she transformed her beloved weapon Crescent Rose into its Way Scythe form as she consistently dance around them, like a ghostly image of an phantom reaper that have came to reap the souls from the very mortal plains of existance, as she kill several dozen and dozen of more KOVIP troopers by cutting their heads off and slashing their throats, shewing all of their bloods right on the snowy white ground itself, coloring it with them, as she exploit the weakness of the dozen and dozens tanks and mechs, making violently explode as their pieces flew through the air, as she shot several and several of VTOLs down with her weapon's Rifle form by shooting their intake fans, causing them to spin out of control as they crash down to the ground before they explode and cause various amount of destruction.

The crowd of people that were standing back from this watch in awe at Ruby while Cardin just smirk at this as he told Jared.

"Kid, keep that jack running. They have shut down my grandpa's giving out newspaper on the corners, but _not this_."

Ruby found this funny. No, more like _hilarious_. It was just hilarious at sight of this. Despite the KOVIP troopers outnumber her by 10 _to_ 1, along with their tanks, mechs, and VTOLs, even weapons included, _yet_ they weren't winning. They weren't even winning against _her_ despite their number. This was laughable. So laughable. They were so incompetent that they make the White Fang mooks like average solders compare to them. So incompetent in fact that you could pit an Apathy grimm against them or even a Creep and they would still win. Heck, even a _mouse_ could even win a battle against them and still would be unscratched by them. They were just so pathetic, pathetic compare to what Ruby have faced.

"TRACK DOWN THE HACKERS! THEY'RE BROADCASTING FROM SOMEWHERE CLOSE!"

"WE CAN'T SIR! THEY'RE BOARDCASTING IT FROM EVERYWHERE!"  
"WHAT?! GODDAMN IT!"

"YOU SEE! Are you watching? LIARS! CROOKS!" Cardin said... before he tackled by one of the KOVIP troopers and his head was put against the ground, but he spoke out, still defying them even then as he spoke out against them. "You can hold me down, BUT YOU _CAN'T_ STOP ME! It's too late! They're watching..."

"Don'tcha shut up-"  
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" A glass bottle was thrown at the KOVIP trooper, shattered upon impact on his head, but was enough for him to stumble right off of Cardin. "You think you're so tough now?"

"Stupid move, you little bitch. Now i'm gonna-"

"Gonna what? You're just a hype-up jerk anyway!"

Soon, various people join in on attacking the KOVIP troopers by attacking them at their most vularable spot of their own armor: Their necks and joints, by using whatever they can use to stab them with. Cardin immediately join in by getting out his mace and start whacking every single KOVIP troopers, distracting them long enough for people to stab them with whatever weapon they got.

Jared kept on recording the video camera, being amazed by what he is seeing with his eyes... but that was his last thought before he felt something through his chest and look down... to see a longsword jagging out of his body.

He turn his head around... to see Jaune with the rest of AHS Unit right beside him while holding his sword by its handle before he rip it right out of Jared's body, causing his blood to skew out into the air from the grash and he slowly died from his wounds until he finally died.

Soon, the rest of the AHS Unit then start to kill several of the rioting people, without mercy, regret, or care of what they are doing:

Adam then started to cut several people down horizenlly with Wilt.

Apollo send several streaks of eletricity at a few dozen people, electrocuting them to death.

Carbine threw several dozen icicles at them, aiming for their throats, killing at least several dozen of people instantly from them.

FS-HM-J1364, however, had set her visors right on Ruby, who saw the AHS Unit themselves, after the KOVIP trooper suddenly stop attacking and start backing, and was shock of the few who she saw with her own eyes, just before the cyborg dashed toward the reaper, charging at her with blinding speed, while her hand was on the handle of her katana, preparing to strike her.

Ruby saw her coming and quickly swipe Crescent Rose's Scythe form at FS-HM-J1364... only to reveal to be none other than a mere illusion, created by FS-HM-J1364 as a distraction, before she see Adam preparing his attack on her before he sending a wave of energy straight at her with a single swing of Wilt, forcing Ruby to dodge his energy wave attack.

However, Apollo fired a blast of electricity at her, sending Ruby flying across the ground, just before Carbine kick her, sending her straight up in the air, before using some snow to add his mass as he then extended his arm up to her before smashing her right into the ground.

The crowd of people, including Cardin, look with horror in their eyes. Horrified of what they were seeing with their own eyes, as Cardin was being taking away by the KOVIP troopers.

Ruby got up from the ground... before she see Jaune staring down at her. Reacted by her own instinct, she immediately grab Crescent Rose and swung it at him. However, Jaune just block it with his energy-absorbing shield before he swing his longsword at her beloved weapon, smashing it, shattering Crescent Rose into pieces. Ruby was shocked by this before Jaune stabbed his sword right into the ground and started to punching her, bashing his own former friend with his own fist, battering her own body around, without mercy or regrets of what he is doing, before he grab his longsword and slash Ruby across the chest, creating a wound on it, causing her to scream to death, as her cloak was cut off by the strike and flying along with the wind.

All five of the AHS Unit begun to beat up Ruby, beating her until she could died a painful and slow death.

However... Have you ever heard of term "Deus Ex Machina"? It was used by ancient Greek playwrights that relief heavily on an storytelling device to get their characters of focus out of an impossible situation. They called it that. "God of the Machine" That's what it meant. An actual device that would descend from the higher planes of existance on pulley and ropes... and rescue the protagonist from the forces of the antagonist.

No reason...

No warning...

And no explanation...

As the hero would rise, the voices of the god themselves would served the judgement over him... to restore balance to the world... and serve as the jury to our protagonist's fate itself.

That's what happen... when a miracle that has taken formed step right onto the battlefield... as an white glowing blurr flew over it and punches the AHS Units away from her. It grab Ruby and jumped into the air, shadowed by the lights of the full shattered moon, before it jumped across the buildings and jump across the frozen waters of the Emprise du Lion Sea, managing to get pass the energy shield, disappearing into the raging storm of the blizzard, as it headed toward the abandon island of Patch, as lightning flash across the sky themselves...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, I named Mix-tape after the first guided bomb. And the Great War Tower is rather obvious.  
> Yeah, I've name the two male OOC after the robot used in Robot Wars.  
> Also, I got over 10000 words for this year of 2018 and over 85000 words in total now that this chapter is posted.


	3. Land Of Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever heard of term "Deus Ex Machina"? It was used by ancient Greek playwrights that relief heavily on an storytelling device to get their characters of focus out of an impossible situation. They called it that. "God of the Machine" That's what it meant. An actual device that would descend from the higher planes of existance on pulley and ropes... and rescue the protagonist from the forces of the antagonist.  
> No reason...  
> No warning...  
> And no explanation...  
> As the hero would rise, the voices of the god themselves would served the judgement over him... to restore balance to the world... and serve as the jury to our protagonist's fate itself.  
> Ruby knows where she is going... She was judged a long time ago... She is going to meet her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Titles:  
> The Rebirth of The Black Death

On the Island of Patch itself, the winter months themselves were slowly coming closer with the blizzard raging on through the island, making it dead silent with the animal gone and the plant sleeping from the snowing cold, ever since it was abandon for a long time, abandoned during the Second Great War itself. Evidence by the overgrowth that have took over the many leftover ruins that were once the remains of the only town of the island, the only academy that was once stood here, and the many farmlands that once dotted the lands of the island as the nature itself took the lands themselves back from the many standing ruins with its fertile powers.

Ruby was silent as she consistently faded back and forth from her consciousness, back and forth... back and forth... back and forth... _back_ and _forth_. All while her mysterious savior, the one that mysterious save her life, with no reason or warning, was carrying her through the silence snowy forest of the trees that were sleeping from the cold itself they were passing by, reminding Ruby of how she would sometimes visit her mother's grave during those cold winter months when she walk by and passing through these same sleeping trees of the forest themselves.

They soon exit the snow-covered forest of sleeping tree as they enter a clearing that was on the edge of the cliff. Her savior then drop her to the ground, with the snow itself cushioning her fall. Ruby slowly point her head upward and see two tombstones, right at the very edge of the cliff itself. These tombstones were the grave sites of her decreased mother... and her decreased girlfriend, Weiss Schnee.

Ruby silently stared at them, specially Weiss', with her red eyes... before she heard a long whispering call of an moaning sound amongst the very winds of the rageful blizzard itself, a beautiful and soothing sound that it was, like it was an siren or even a gentle and peaceful banshee, before it slowly died away on the wrathful winds of the blizzard. She turn her head to where she have heard it coming... and saw her savior...

Her savior... was a 3 meters (9.8 feets) tall Arma Gigas. An Arma Gigas that was glowing with a bright snowly white and have a single blue dot in its head as its only eye while looming over Ruby as it look down at her. And then... it spoke. It spoke... _she_ spoke a familiar voice with a beautiful angel-like tone that was singing from the heaven above them as she spoke to Ruby. " _Hello, Ruby... it's been a long time ago... wasn't it?_ "

Ruby's eyes widen in shock when she heard that voice. Her voice... was recognisable. Too recognisable in fact for her to denial herself of who _she_ was. So recognisable in fact that Ruby herself, despite the long years that she have heard it from the last time, instantly recognize of who it was despite her different form as she spoke out in complete shock. "W-WEISS?!"

* * *

 

Cardin was being held and stood up by just 2 KOVIP troopers, holding him inside of the office room of the KOVIP building, while he glared at Orville Lior, who was sitting comfortable at his desk, playing around with his letter knife, as he have an smug look on his face right at Cardin, with Dr. Merlot standing near him with an calm expression on his face as he look at this rather recent development, before he spoke. "For an old tomcat, you are _quite_ the troublemaker, Winchester. Why come down from the mountain? Just to spook the cattle?"

"Sir, it appeared Mr. Cardin Winchester has a _bold heart_ , so don't antagonize him." Dr. Merlot calmly warned him, but Orville just laugh at that as he ignored his warning.

"Heh, that's it? Some last kicks at the can before you're dead?" Orville mocked Cardin as he played with his paper knife, with Dr. Merlot remaining silent with a frown expression written on his face as he stood back, knowing what is going to happen as _he's_ smart enough to look at it carefully, _unlike_ Orville, while the scene unfold itself.

"You own _nothing_ from this _city_ or this _kingdom_ , you coward whose _strings_ are being played by a _puppet_." Cardin insulted him.

"Pardon me?" Orville said, stop playing with his paper knife of what he heard, before he ask him with a rising tone of anger coming from his voice. " _What_ did you _exactly_ call me and say to me?"

"You're nothing but an coward." Cardin taunted Orville, defient to the ends, as he taunt him. "You're just a coward who is hiding behind your men for protection and let them do the dirty work for you. You're nothing but a damn parasited idiotic _puppet_ whose holding this kingdom by its throat, just ready to cut its throat by your hidden and true master's command. You're only control your group, and therefore, this kingdom, with your money and influence, but if you take those away, it reveal nothing more than a completely stupid and shivering coward who can't do anything by himself, even fighting against a mere small mice, or more properly, a mere _germ_. That's right, you're nothing more then a shivering weak coward who can't cut the throat of this kingdom because he can't even fight against a mere _germ_."

Enraged just by Cardin's taunts and insults to him, Orville immediately got up from his desk and walk over to him as he then gesture two KOVIP troopers to throw him down to the floor, which they prompty did, before he shouted at Cardin with rage in his voice as he attempted to stab him with his paper knife. "WHAT AN _EXCELLENT_ IDEA!"

"LIAR! I know _who_ you truely are!" Cardin insulted him as he easily stop Orville's attempt to stab him by grabbing the blade of his paper knife with his hands before striking him right in his face with his head, causing to let go of his paper knife, before he use it to stab him in his throat. Cardin immediately step away from him, as far as he knew and his concerns, Orville _wasn't_ the true leader, just a mere power-grabbing puppet for _someone_ else. Someone that was planning _something_ else.

"DROP THE KNIFE!"

"SHUT UP AND SHOOT-"

"Gentlemen, please. There's no need." Dr. Merlot said, as he gesture the two KOVIP troopers to stand down for now, as _he_ knew that Cardin have manage to figure it out. Cardin then look at him and he immediately _charged_ at Dr. Merlot.

" _THERE_ YOU ARE!!!" Cardin shouted as he muster all of the _years_ of fury contain within him as he charged right at Dr. Merlot before he attempted to stab him with the paper knife through his head. However, Dr. Merlot easily stop the attack... with his own _left hand_ as it flash faster than Cardin could see before he saw that the old doctor already stop it, with the blade of the paper knife in his left hand and holding in place despite Cardin's own strength... before he _crushed_ it in his hand... but however, this did not deter Cardin at all as he attempt to punch him, but Dr. Merlot easily block it by blocking and hold Cardin's fist in his right hand before he drop the wrecked paper knife.

"Quite." Dr. Merlot merely said as a smirk appear on his face... before he _slam_ Cardin with his left hand, sending him flying across the office room until he hit the wall, making a dentation in the wall in the process, shocking the two KOVIP troopers of how easily he done it. The two KOVIP troopers were then helping Orville as Dr. Merlot spoke. "My patience for this behavior is wearing thin."

Dr. Merlot continue to smirk at this before a lightning flashes across the window of the office room of the KOVIP building... revealing his _two_ glowing red eyes in process...

* * *

 

Ruby remain, in shock of who the Arma Gigas was, before she ask. "W-Weiss? Is that you?"

" _Yes Ruby... it's me._ " Weiss, taking on the form of a Arma Gigas, the first grimm that she slain, and the first one that she summoned, all those years ago, said. " _The one who you're looking at._ "

"B-but... but you've supposed to be dead years ago!"

" _Ruby. I am dead. I'm a ghost now, talking to on the world of the living you dolt. I've used my own semblance to make a physical body for myself and posessed it so I can save you._"

"W-why you are here then? I-I don't understand anymore!"

" _Ruby. I don't know how many years it was that i'm dead now, but I've sense your horizon of despair from beyond the grave, like you've been taken to the underworld. When i've sense your horizon of despair, I realized you've hit your lowest moment in the world of the living. And i've also realized that I have to do one thing that I have to do: To enter that underworld and find you, no matter how long it took. And then give a parting gift to you. My parting gift to you... Ruby. Return the fire to the heaven above Vale, Ruby._ " Weiss said, just as something erupt up from underneath Weiss' grave and up from the ground, revealing to none other than a casket. Ruby was in complete silence, silence in her thoughts... before she told Weiss. Told the ghost of her girlfriend...

"... Weiss... I can't... I just... I just can't..."

" _... Why...?_ "

"Because, Weiss... Because... Just because..." Ruby said... before she then look up at Weiss, revealing her eyes to be filled with pain and regret while streaking tears. Tears of sadness. Tears of regrets. And tears of guilt. Were running down on her face as she told. "Because I _kill_ you, Weiss!! I kill you at the last _moments_ of the Second Great War!!!! I WAS THE ONE WHO KILL YOU, _WEISS!!!!!!_ "

* * *

 

Back at the Great Wars Towers. At the tops of the massive tower... Team CFVY, Neo, Hazel, Emerald, Mercury, Lieutenant, Peter, Oobleck, and whoever was sleeping in the locker, all of them were standing right at top of the massive tower itself, looking at the KOVIP building, as they were wondering. Wondering if Cardin's idea and according of their plans were right. If the according was correct about the KOVIP group's, or _rather_ , more-like Dr. Merlot's plans, for the kingdom of Vale itself. All they knew right now was to wait and see, wait till the time come to see if it was true, wait and see when the time for these plan to come to advance...

* * *

 

"You don't look so good, Orville." Cardin taunted, as he was being held down by a pair of two KOVIP troopers.

"Sh-shut up. Sh-shut your mouth." Orville said, as the doctor and his assistance medical robot were checking and putting a dressing and bandage on his neck, while suffering a nervious breakdown at this.

"What'd he _promise_ you? What are you _in_ for? Money? Power? Glory? I can see _why_ he have so control _you_ , like an puppet with _strings_ for all these _15 years_ , because you are so easy for somone to manipulate." Cardin insulted.

"I-I'm doing what's best for this damn kingdom and just about damn everyone else in it! Just like my daddy told me." Orville said, believing his own lies in his mind, before he got up from his chair as he then told Cardin. "I am their _shepherd_! Yours too! I am the responsible for this kingdom!"

"Oh please! I can see the only _damn_ responsible that _you'll_ be taking is the _cause_ and the _fate_ of this very kingdom, with the fate of _millions_ of people dead _thanks_ to you!" Cardin continue to insult Orville, with a slight hint of a sarcastic tone in his voice, as he hissed at him. "He'll smother us all! Reap our own damn souls from our bodies! And you're damn right about that, because you _will_ be only one who be taking responsible for _this_!"

"Cardin Winchester... save your breath." Dr. Merlot said, as he enter the office with the same two KOVIP troopers from before, as he spoke to him. "After all, it's now pointless to argue with a puny and worthless puppet anyway." He said to Cardin cautiously, with Orville in the room, shocked of what he heard, not even _caring_ if he _did_ heard it, as he gesture to the two KOVIP troopers to stay guard the door, before he walk over to the window of the office room and watch outside through it. Watching the falling snows itself to continue to fall from the heavens, before he then ask him. "So tell me... how long did you have _known_?"

"I didn't. But I had my suspicions. I didn't have good grades in Beacon Acamedy, but i'm not dumb. The severe treatment you've give to the citizen of Vale with your trooper terrorizing them _and_ attempting to suppressing all of their emotions. While just treating your troopers _cautiously_ like expandable foot soldiers they are. Bottling _up_ all of the civilian's hatred and the negative emotions of the KOVIP group like an bomb that is about to go off. With the Creature of Grimm scouting and waiting around the walls and above the city of Vale itself like packs of Beowolves, flocks of Nevermores, and even head of Goliaths! Many kind of grimm waiting right outside out of the wall but not attacking for some reason. I don't know _what_ were you planning, but I knew you _were_ planning something!" Cardin answered his question before he told Dr. Merlot. "But I so know one thing about you, Dr. Merlot: You're not no longer a human being anymore! Human nor faunus! You're just a monster in human skin! YOU LIAR! SNAKE!! WICKED!!!"

Instead of being anger by Cardin's insults... Dr. Merlot was _grinning_ at them, showing his own teeths were no longer human... but sharp and thick, as he _knew_ that Cardin doesn't just how _right_ he was... before he _begun_ to transform. Transforming with _enjoyment_ at this...

"THEIF!!!! CROOKS!!!!! WORMS!!!!!!"

Everyone, excluding Cardin himself, look in complete horror and terror as Dr. Merlot begun to transform into his true form as his skin begun to blacken while his height begin to increased, ripping his clothes to shred to pieces and destroying them in process, as his torso expanding both in size and height...

"BASTARDS!!!!!!! PARASITE!!!!!!!! CRIMINAL!!!!!!!!!"

His arms and legs then begin to extend to inhuman proportions, growing longer and thicker just by the seconds, as his finger and toes extend a bit and then glown claws that were short yet thick and dagger-like, before his waist begin to glow thinner...

"KILLER!!!!!!!!!! VILLIAN!!!!!!!!!!! MAGGOTS!!!!!!!!!!!! AND MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Short and curved neon green-glowing spikes then popped out right of his back, his shoulders, and the upper part of his arms, as a long, thick, and bone-covered scorpion-like tail extend out of the bottom of his back before his face begun to extend outward, turning it into a wolf-like muzzle, with his teeths becoming rows and rows of them, about four or five, as they all become large and crooked, even some of which are glowing out of his mouth's flesh, and his 2 eyes becoming 8 red ones, with 4 on each side of his face before a bone-made mask grew on his now transformed face. With his transformation to his true form now completed, he let out an roar, silencing everyone, including Cardin, and stopping them from trying to dare to escape the office room.

Dr. Merlot have now reveal his true form: It was reveal to be a Mutant Beowolf-like monster with his height tall as the room itself, his arms and legs were now inhumanly long and thick yet slim and slender at the same time, an long Deathstalker-like tail, a upside down pyamid-shape torso, dagger-like claws, 8 red eyes, and a Beowolf-like muzzle with a mouth that was filled with rows and rows of large and crooked teeths...

That was when Cardin spoke. "So... you've _changed_. Changed into what you truely _are_."

" **OH... why _thank_ you for that insult.**" Dr. Merlot, speaking the first time in his true form with a tooth-fill grin like an crocodile on his face, taking it as complacent rather than a insult to him, before he suddenly swing his claws right at the 2 KOVIP trooper, killing them, and then stabbing the doctor with the stringer part of his own tail, killing him too, before throwing his corpse right at his assistant robot, destroying it. " **After all, for someone with a below average intelligent, you've to _least_ figure _parts_ of my plan. I have to say i'm _rather_ impressed to say the last. But enough small talk _now_ , I got a plan to advanced. Now, it's time for Phase _two_ of my plan.**" He said rather causally before he ordered the main computer of the KOVIP building as he told it. " **Computer. Order all of the KOVIP troopers to return to the tower and to stand outside to protect the tower. And activate and initialize the Code 731 immediately.** "

" _Understood. Activating and initializing Code 731: Holocaust_."  
Orville look with horror in his eyes. "The Holocaust code?! The one that open all the gates of the wall and shut down the energy shield itself over the city as it will let all of the Creature of Grimm outside right into the city of Vale?! Dr. Merlot-"

" ** _SILENCE!!!_ Your _uses_ to me are now _over_. You're just a worthless puny maggot now. It's time for me anyway to watch the people of this pathetic _city_ , including the worthless troopers, to be all _brutally_ massacre and slaughter by the Creature of Grimm themselves... with you _two_ being my _guests_.**" Dr. Merlot grinned at this as he then sit down on the floor with his hands touching the floor itself before he then told them. " **Now, just sit back _and_ relax. Just watch the show itself now that it is starting...**"

* * *

 

Everyone that on the streets of the city of Vale were minding their own business... all before they saw the energy shield over the city itself suddenly shut down and the gates of the walls themselves open up, allowing the Creature of Grimm themselves to entered into the city of Vale itself. Every population of the city of Vale watched in hopeless horror and terror as the thousand and thousand of Grimm came into the city.

Aqua, Jared's faunus friend who ran with him while forced to abandon their third friend, just look in an mixed of absolutely fear, horror, and terror into one expression itself as the horde of Grimm came pouring into the city of Vale... all before his world became nothing but blood red when a Creep chomp down onto his neck and shoulder, killing him.

* * *

 

The KOVIP troopers, standing outside of the KOVIP building, either outside or in their tanks, mechs, or VTOLs, were watching in horror and terror as the Creature of Grimm started to kill and slaughtering the population of the City of Vale without mercy, showing their infamous ruthlessness and merciless killing of anyone, either they were human or faunus, not caring of who is which. However, he leader of the KOVIP troopers, the KOVIP leader, the one who take orders from Dr. Merlot himself, who was sitting inside of his personal mech, did not care for the lives of the citizen of Vale themselves before he told them. "Stay steady, men. We have orders for only one thing: Protect the tower."

However, some of the KOVIP trooper were so horrified by the sight of the Creature of Grimm brutally massacring and slaughtering all of the population of the city of Vale that one of them started to puke out from the sight and cause one of them attempt to run away in fear.

"WEST! Come back here!"

"YOU KNOW THE _PUNISHMENT_ FOR DESERTION!"

"Don't worry, sir. I've _got_ him." One of the KOVIP troopers said before he aim his gun at West and fired its bullet, killing West instantly.

"Thank you."

"I'm here to serve the group, sir. Just like you said."

"Good. Now men, stand still and protect the tower!"

* * *

 

_Back on top of the Great Wars Tower..._

When they saw the energy shield shutting down before they heard and see the hordes of the Creature of Grimm coming into the city of Vale, _they_ immediately knew only one thing: That Cardin's prediction of Dr. Merlot's plan was _correct_. They knew it was finally _time_ to do it. It was finally time to do it. Coco spoke out as she wielded her minigun. "Alright, people. Look like it's time to get to work! Mix-Tape! Actived those cannons!"

"Understood."

* * *

 

Ruby _cried_. Cried to herself. Cried for the fact that she was the one _who_ killed Weiss as she remember it all of how it happen...

It was the last day. The very last day of the Second Great War, hours before it've ended. Back when she still the Grimm Commander. The Black Death. She was on the Island of Patch at the time, having since been abandon in the middle of the war, before she met Weiss, now an specialist for Atlas, in the forest. Weiss tried to reason with her, trying not to fight her, having since figuring out that she was Ruby. However, the Black Death herself have long forgotting about herself at the time, long since she've became the first Grimm Commander, can't even remembering her own past, before she begun to fight Weiss.

The Grimm Commander have held all of the advantages throughout their fight as Weiss have summon her Arma Gigas' sword, but never tried to fight her seriously at all, since she knew it was Ruby despite her being no longer that person. However, the Black Death did have felt a strange feeling in the back of her head, as if she know this _person_... from _somewhere_. From somewhere she know _she_ meet her _from_. All she did do was to fight against Weiss... until the Grimm Commander herself give the final blow to her when, her aura was too low, that she slash her across the chest with her weapon, causing her to fall onto the snowy ground.

However, that was when Weiss' Scroll, which have fallen out of the fight early, suddenly ring before it turn on by itself and reveal the news that the war, the Second Great War itself, was now offically over.

The Black Death herself was shock of when she heard that and heard the truth of why the 2nd Great War itself was started, causing her to be send into a dilemma. A dilemma that she was facing by herself, as it meant that now the war is over, what use is for her now? As she all know at that point, as far as she can remember, was to fight in a war and now it's meant that she was no longer useful. No longer useful for anyone now...

That was when Weiss call her original name, the original name that she knew of the Grimm Commander back when they first met and became partner, she call her by her original name, thrust causing the Black Death to fall onto the ground and clench her head with her hands in pain as the memories. Every memories that she _knew_ of. Came rushing back into her head. It lasted for a while...

When it was finally finished, the Grimm Commander... the Black Death herself... Ruby, have _remembered_ her original name. However, when she realized of _what_ she've done, she look and saw Weiss, she attempt to stop the bleeding. Ruby tried to stop the bleeding from Weiss' chest, even using her eletrically powers to keep Weiss' own heart still beating, but the snow angel's fate was, unfortunately, inevitable...

Weiss decide to do one thing... the last thing that she will do before she'll death in the world of the living. She put her hands on Ruby's head, with her helmet still on... and give her a kiss. A long kiss. One loving last kiss to her girlfriend...

Ruby saw Weiss' arms drop to the side of her body as she felt her warmth leaving her body.

Ruby was in complete silent... before she give a howl. A sorrowful howl. A sorrowful howl that the world have never heard or never will... ever again...

Ruby carry Weiss' dead body, while dragging a beautiful black casket that have fit quite well on Weiss behind her, through the snow forest of the sleeping tree... to her mother's, her own mother's grave. She bury the casket, containing Weiss' dead body with inside, along with her Grimm Commander's armor and weapon, along side with her mother's grave...

All that she knew... was that she was truely alone. Truely alone now in the cold world that is reality itself...

Ruby cried as she remember it all...

However, that was when she felt hands on her shoulder, althrough they were cold. She look up... saw Weiss, but _this_ time, in her original form. Although she was glowing white like all of her summons, her body was the same one that she saw the last time before she have buried her body. All before she kissed her, much to Ruby's shock. Although her lips were cold, it was still the same kiss she knew as Ruby kiss back in silence.

It lasted for a while before Weiss split her lips from her and smile... before she turn to dust, that was carried by the winds of the blizzard. Ruby tried to grab some of the dust, but they were too far away for her now to grab at least a tiny bit. She was in complete silence... before she Weiss' voice, coming from the wind themselves, although disembodied, was the same angel-like voice as she heard her speak to her.

" _Ruby... although I know you were who killed me. I don't have anything against you for that... since you were not yourself at the time. Ruby. Even through i'm now dead, I want you to live, Ruby. Please, Ruby... live for Yang. Live for Blake. And most of all, I want you to live. So please Ruby... live for me..._"

Ruby was in complete silence of what she heard... before she see the dark grey clouds of the blizzard suddenly breaking, making a circle around the dark grey clouds, and turn her head... to see the moon. The full shattered moon. The full shattered moon itself... shining, shining right on Weiss' casket. Ruby was silent... before she walk over to it. Since Weiss want her to live, right?

She open the casket and gone inside of before she closed it on herself, so she could at least concentrate to herself... so could unleashed the beast that she seal inside of herself. So she could save the kingdom of Vale... even if it gonna cost her life...

* * *

 

" **Do you heard that sound, Cardin?** " Dr. Merlot asked as they've watch the Creature of Grimm running over Vale as they continue to murder people from left to right.

"The sound of a city _raped_? Of the _ultimate evil_?"

" **That too. But something else entirely...** " Dr. Merlot then grinned. " **The lyrics of weapons that are being _shot_ from their barrels...**"

* * *

 

At the Great Wars tower... the four 6-barrels 12.8 CM FlaK 40 cannons and the lower 8 twin M61 Vulcan guns on top of the massive tower that were automated were firing their rounds all at the Creature of Grimm that were flying through in the air, shredding them into pieces. While they were doing that, all 11 Hunters of the FAVOR Resistance themselves were fighting all the Grimm that were on the ground. They were doing for one same reason: Keeping the over 10000 people safe in the basement of the Great Wars Tower.

Coco fired her minigun as she slaughter several dozens and dozens of Grimms with Velvet copying her weapon and helping her with them.

Fox, Yatsuhashi, and Lieutenant were slicing and dicing the Grimms with their own weapons.

Neo and Mecury were dancing around the Grimm as they stab, slash, and shoot the vital weak spot of the Grimms.

Hazel was punching dozens and dozens of Grimm with his fists alone as he punch them all with one punch, thanks to his semblance, before he grab a Deathstalker by its tail and send it flying right into a incoming, killing more of them in the process.

Emerald use her Fall Maiden power to kill hundreds and hundreds of Creature of Grimm with waves of fires at several directions.

Peter and Oobleck were sending several fireballs right at the incoming Grimms, killing dozen and dozen of them despite their advanced age.

One of the Nevermores swooped in and attempt to attack Coco... but before it could do it, it was immediately blasted out of the air by a fireball, fired by Emerald.

"Nice shot." Coco comment.

"Thanks." Emerald said.

"I still hate you."

"Likewise. I hate you too."

"But we can both _agree_ on one _thing_ : We don't _hate_ Ruby for _what_ she is." Coco said before she spoke to Mix-Tape through the radio. "MIX-TAPE! START _RINGING_ THAT BELL!!!!"

" _Affirmative._ "

Mix-tape actived the machine for it and once it did, it start ringing the bell, right on top of the Great Wars Tower, donging its sound throughout the entire city...

_... DONG! ... DONG! ... DONG! ... DONG!_

* * *

 

_... DONG!_

"Steady men. Do not let these Grimm breach the tower." The KOVIP leader said.

_... DONG!_

* * *

 

... DONG!

"Spread out throughout the KOVIP building. Cover each floors. You _know_ what to do. _Who_ to look for." Jaune said as he told the AHS Unit.

"Oh, yesssss..." Apollo answered.

_... DONG!_

* * *

 

_... DONG!_

" **All the players are now taking the stage.** " Dr. Merlot said with the bell itself ringing in the background as he grinned at this. " **Tonight's performance... IS ABOUT TO _BEGIN_.**"

 

_... DONG!_

* * *

 

_... DONG!_

The sounds of the ringing bell were carried by the winds of the sky. The wind carrying it over the frozen sea of the Emprise du Lion Sea. The sounds of the ringing bell ringing throughout the island of Patch. Ringing over the snow-covered casket...

... All before a black-armored fist punch though it.

Ruby rose up from the casket itself, now with her Grimm Commander armor back on her, along with her weapons now re-equipped and attach to her back, her lance Bendo Nightmare and her two-spiked shield Razer Behemoth.

 

([X](https://monsterhunter.fandom.com/wiki/Stygian_Zinogre_Equipment))

She has now unseal her beast from with inside of her, signalling one of her most important events of all... _she_ was back.

The beast is back from Hell.

The Black Death is back from Hell.

 _She's_ back from Hell itself.

"It's time to finished this all... **_DR. MERLOT!!!!_** "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, I've plan all of that. And yes, Ruby's Grimm Commander armor is inspired by the Stygian Zinogre Armor and a few of its weapons. And yes, they were named after the four robot from two different series, BattleBots and Robot Wars.  
> Also, this story have the 5th most subscription and bookmark and "Two In One" is now my 5th most hits story on my stats.


	4. The Vengeful One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Titles:  
> Return of the Black Death

Hundreds and hundreds of Grimm were inside of the City of Vale, ripping apart any citizens of the city itself that they could find with their teeths, claws, and many other kinds of external bodyparts, not caring if they were either Human or Faunus, as they were all but the same kind of being to them. They all rip and shred anyone they can find... all before a blurr passed by them, leaving a sparkings of crimson red/black eletricity behind it, before the Creature of Grimm were all but _obliterated_ in its trail.

This was none other than Ruby herself, who was _charging_ through the horde and horde of the Creature of Grimms themselves with her weapons, her lance, Bendo Nightmare, and her two top-spiked shield, Razer Behemoth, in her hands, as she blasted though them like an jet that going at Mach 3, before she use an Beowolf's head as an improvised platform to jump right into the air and use the two top-spikes of Razer Behemoth to grab hold onto an Nevermore that was heading toward the KOVIP building.

Once she got near to it, Ruby then use Bendo Nightmare to stab right through into the skull of the Nevermore itself, killing it instantly, before she use its corpse as another improvised platform to jump toward the KOVIP building, with its now dead body fall to the ground while it was evaporizing into the air, before she put her equipments behind her back just before she landed right on the side of the KOVIP building itself and use her clawed gloves to embed them into its sides as she skited down down for a few seconds. Then she begun climbing up the side of building with her clawed gloves...

* * *

 

All of the 5 members of the AHS Unit were in the same room, waiting for Ruby to eventually come into the tower itself and attack from with inside of it. Predictable, a few of them were growing cranky from the waiting...

"THIS WAITING IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Apollo complained about this... before he realized the _irony_ of his complaining. "Oh wait! I am _crazy_! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

"A glowing white armor that was moving on its own took her away from her reckoning upon her from us. Will she dare face us again?" Adam ask to himself... before he crack a cocky smug on his face at this as he scuff at it. "Of course not. I think her courage is too small now to face us again."

"Hell yeah!" Carbine agreed with him.

"Dr. Merlot says she's coming... so keep your eyes peeled. She could be anywhere." Jaune said. Unknown to him, he was right, as Ruby herself was ascending the KOVIP building on its side with her clawed gloves. He then carefully hears the guns and cannons themselves were firing while the bell itself was ringing outside. "Do you hear those noises? The cannons and guns being fired? The bell ringing outside?"

"It's like a ceremony of marriage..." FS-HM-J1364 comment on this.

"Or a funeral!" Both Apollo and Carbine said at the same time before they both start laughing at their shared terrible joke...

* * *

 

At the Great Wars Tower, automated four 6-barrels 12.8 CM FlaK 40 cannons and the lower 8 twin M61 Vulcan guns on top of the massive tower were shooting down all the Grimms that were flying through air that were near it, with its concrete structure easily deflecting all of the Grimm's attacks, like all of the Nevermore's feathers, as Creeps attempt to dig into it, but failed to put a scratch on it. Not surprising considering they were design by the same person who designed the walls for the cities of Remnants. All while the 11 Hunters themselves were dealing with the Creature of Grimms that were on the ground. They were all doing the one main part of Cardin's plan: Keep the over 10000 people inside of the basement of the Great Wars tower safe, all so that they could repopulate the city of Vale itself when its finally over. Even though it meant that the rest of the population of Vale will dead from the slaughtering of the Creature of Grimm, and they all knew that, including Cardin himself, they didn't like this plan at all, but they couldn't do anything about it... as they didn't have any better plans for this and time was already running out at the time...

And whoever was sleeping in the refurished locker was still snoring through all of this...

That was when the KOVIP leader himself, sitting inside his personal mecha, and the KOVIP troopers, either were standing outside or in their tanks, mechs, or VTOLS, were standing at a considerable distance from the Great Wars Tower.

"Funny. Very funny." The KOVIP leader said before he ordered his troops. "Aimed all of your weapons at the tower, ordered by Dr. Merlot himself, and prepared to shoot it on my orders."

The KOVIP troopers, tanks, mechs, and VTOLs all aimed their available weapon, aiming right at the Great Tower itself...

However, that was when the snoring from within the refurished locker have suddenly stop... all before it suddenly was kick from inside, ripping the door of the locker from its hinges and send it flying through the air before it then hit though the KOVIP leader's personal mech, breaching and piecing though its hull and decapitated his head before he could even give his orders to his men, killing him instantly.

The KOVIP troopers were shocked of what they just happen to their boss... before they heard giggling and turn to see... a ginger-hair girl with green glowing eyes and wings made of metal, floating in the air right in from of them. This robot girl that they were seeing with their own eyes was none other than Penny Polendina herself, rebuilded during the Second Great War and was helping the FAVOR Resistance with her abilities.

"Ah, now that was a long and nice nap!" Penny said cheerfully... before she then notice the KOVIP troopers force right in front of her before she then spoke to them, still with the same cheerful tone in her voice. "Were you trying to destroy the tower right behind me? That is _quite_ unfortunate for all of you..." Penny said... before she then spawn about over 120 of her swords from within her compacted body into the air as they all aimed straight at the KOVIP troopers force. "Because i'm gonna give you the taste of your medicine~!"

Penny then fired a quarter of her swords right at them, completely oblitarating the remaining forces of the KOVIP troopers off the face of the earth. The robot girl then controlled two of her 10 swords and formed them into 2 rings of energy blasters before she fired them right at the incoming horde of Grimm, wiping half of them off. She then join in the Great Wars Tower automated defense weapon and the 11 Hunters into holding the horde of incoming grimm off, with Emerald setting the 4 springs that surround the tower itself on fire that was hotter than the _lightning_ itself, from the basement of the tower...

* * *

 

" **Ah yes... the sound of the scream of people that are being killed are lullaby to my ears.** " Dr. Merlot said with a sadist tone of voice at the sight of the city of Vale being overrun and their citizens being brutally murdered in cold blood by the Creature of Grimm... before he sensed something on the KOVIP building, which was none other than Ruby, climbing up the sides of the tower. " **Well... well... well... look who's here... _She's_ here...**" He said calmly... before he _grinned_ at this development. " ** _Good._** " Then he order Apollo on the radio. " **Apollo. Turn on the Eletric Wave Shield... we have a _guest_ now.**"

* * *

 

"With pleasure." Apollo answered before he begun to charged the eletricity from within his body and FOX-01 power armor as he was preparing to turn on the KOVIP building's Electric Wave Shield. "This suit you got fitted me with...? _IT SING!!!_ " Apollo scream as he unleashed and sending an wave of eletricity outside of the building itself, electrocuting whatever was touching the surface of the building and killing whatever it was instantaneously...

... Only to reveal that Ruby has _completely_ no selled the wave of eletricity as she continue to climb up the side of the building, with electricity now sparking from her body.

"Okay. That's just _annoying_." Ruby grumble at this as she continue to climb up the outside of the building with her clawed gloves. She climb up for a while... until she came up right to the _source_ of the Electric Wave Shield _itself_. "Ah... there we go." Ruby then use the excess energy from the Electric Wave Shield to _blow_ herself through the wall of the room, causing Apollo to be skitted back from the explosion as the smoke rised from the result itself...

Before Ruby bursted out of the covering smoke, with Bendo Nightmare and Razer Behemoth in each of her two hands now, before she kicked Apollo right in his face, sending him flying across the room before he hit the wall of the room and skit down to the floor.

"I _knew_ that you'd be excited." Ruby snarked at this as Apollo slowly got up from the floor while using the wall as support.

"Y-you... don't know the half of it. First, i'm gonna call a old friend..." Apollo coughed before he reach his hand over to the faucet for the only fire sprinkler system in the room and slowly turn it around, allowing the sprinkler to discharged the water from it. "... Then he's going to soak you down, head-to-toes..." The water discharged from the sprinkler suddenly started to slowly move around before they begun to focus on one spot as its form got bigger and bigger from the water droplets. "And _ZAP!_ You'll have more current running through your body than a 1000 Electric storm." The collection of water droplet was now fully reformed as it was reveal to be none other than Carbine, with his body now in a liquid state made of water, just before Apollo and Carbine start to circle around Ruby on the each side...

Ruby, however, was not at least _impressed_ by them or their team-up before she then spoke to them. "Really? Really? Haven't you idiots _heard?_ "

"Like a thousand of tasers set to kill, like an acre of electric fencing, like a- Heard _what?_ "

" _This._ " Ruby suddenly use Razer Behemoth's 2-top spikes to punctured right through Apollo's FOX-01 Power Armor before she easily lifted him up with her shield and thrown him right at Carbine's liquid state body. The second that their bodies have touch each other, this cause an violent chain reaction when Apollo's electricity power and Carbine's own liquid state body cause them to react to each other, thus causing them to scream in complete pain just before both of their bodies was overloaded from the energy reaction, causing an explosion, killing both of them in the process, which have destroyed the room's three walls, the ceiling, and the floor, causing smoke to fill up a small part of the hallway. Ruby then walked out of the smoke with zero damage on her body. " _Electricity_ and _water_ don't mix."

Two down. Ruby knew there was now three members of the AHS Unit left to go as the smoke itself slowly disperse away. That was when she suddenty sense something charging right at her before she heard a incoming battlecry...

" _RUBY!!!!_ "

A voice shouted, filled with violent rage at her, as it charged straight at her, before Ruby use Razer Behemoth to block Janue's attack with his heated-edge longsword before she push it away and attempt to stab him through his body with Bendo Nightmare, but he blocked Bendo Nightmare's attack with his own shield.

They're soon locked in battle with each other, trading blows to each other while their shields blocking each other's attacks with their weapons, before they locked each other in an bind lock, where weapons that are locked close together and are pushed against in an clich, with sparks flying everywhere from the resulting clash and grinding of their weapons with their own strength, as Ruby and Jaune just simply standing still, staring at each other menacingly, as both of them tried to overpower each other.

"I've waited a _long_ time for this." Jaune hissed, his voice seeping with hatred toward Ruby.

"Jaune. _Why_ did you join side with Dr. Merlot in the first place?" Ruby ask, still not quite sure of Jaune's reason for this.

"I've wanted _revenge_ on you for being _one_ of the _causes_ for Pyrrha's death."

Their weapons then broke away from each other due to the resulting backlash from their own strengths and immediately start trading blows to each other while their shields blocking each other's attacks with their weapons before they went into another bind lock.

"I _tried_ to save her, Jaune." Ruby pointed out.

"I DON'T _CARE_ WHAT YOU _SAY_! All I care about right now is _killing you!_ " Jaune said before they broke their own weapon away from each other and started trading blows to each other while their shields blocking each other's attacks with their weapons before locking themselves and their weapons into another bind lock. "Luckly for me, that _old doctor_ himself have given me a upgrade, a new and more powerful form, in order to kill you!"

They broke their own weapon away from each other once more and started trading blows to each other while their shields blocking each other's attacks with their weapons before they locked themselves and their weapons into another bind lock.

"With this, I can do _anything_!"

"Anything?"

"ANYTHING!"

"Can you _fly_ then?"

Before Jaune could respond to that question, Ruby broke Bendo Nightmare away from their bind lock with each other... before she charged Bendo Nightmare with her ability before she fired a orb made of crimson black/red electricity and Ruby's own aura straight through Bendo Nightmare, right at Jaune's abdomen like a projectile shoot by a rail cannon going at Mach 25, cracking his armor in the process and causing his amplfied aura to absorb all of the energy from the electric orb itself, taking most of his amplfied aura away from him, and caused him to be send flying straight through a few wall, taking away an quarter of his amplfied aura, before being sending _straight_ out of the KOVIP building itself and flying through the air for a moment.

Time seem to slow down around Jaune as his vision briefly flash the images of everyone that he betrayed to get his pointless revengeance on Ruby herself before seeing Pyrrha herself in his eyes, looking at him from the heaven itself with an sadden expression on her face before she shook her head in _disappointment_ at Jaune and look away in _shame_ from him.

He scream, like a baby crying for his or her mother, in horror and terror as he attempt to grasp the vision of Pyrrha in his hand while he fall down through the air... before hitting the ground itself, finally broke all of his amplfied aura and all of his aura as an result, breaking his back in the process.

Jaune rolled onto his belly for a moment before he started to coughing up some blood from his mouth... but he would be not _alone_...

That was when he heard the various growls, barking, and other sounds that were around him before he look up and saw many kinds of Grimms, all surrounding his now broken body that is easy picking. Jaune look in horror and terror at this, with despair added in, but not because of their sheer _numbers_ alone. No... it was the _intelligent_ in their eyes. In _all_ of their eyes, filled with _hunger_ for negative emotions. How much intelligent they _were_? They were intelligent enough... to sadistically torture either a human or a faunus, not caring which one, both _slowly_ and _painfully_ with sadist joy from this. _Why_? To get most of the resulting negative emotions from their vicitims, which was in this _case_ , _Jaune_ himself.

The Creature of Grimm soon descend on him, ripping his armor off of him, before they slowly _and_ painfully torturing Jaune, slowly ripping right into his body and painfully taking away his body parts from him, as he scream. His scream filling the air itself, filling the snowing night sky of the city of Vale itself.

Ruby almost feel sorry for Jaune.

"Almost." Ruby said, coldly and callously, with her equipments now behind her back, as she have already have long accepted that the friend that she've once knew from Beacon is all but now completely dead, both figuratively _and_ literally, as she heard his scream _slowly_ dying away on the winds themselves.

That was when the room was suddenly slowly filled up by an white fog as she remain still of this... before a spectre of what appear to be Weiss appeared, right behind Ruby's back, as she slowly hover toward before she spoke.

" _Ruby-_ "

"Shut up."

CRACK!

Ruby smash the back of her fist right into Weiss' face, only to it was reveal to be FS-HM-J1364, using her illusion-based semblance to make her appear to be Weiss herself, backhanding her, cracking and shattering her visor in the process, before electrocuting her with her electrically ability and sending her down to the floor.

"Let me guess... is this some kind of toxic _hallucinogen_? Bad news for you: I'm _immune_ to it." Ruby said, thanks to her _regeneration_ ability, before she then told FS-HM-J1364 coldy while she slowly died from her own toxic hallucinogen seeping into her own helmet. "I've met a few people that have _comparable_ semblances to yours. However, here's the different: Unlike you, _they're_ smart enough to _not_ dress up themselves like the people that someone cared about the most. Not unless they're willing to _risk_ it."

FS-HM-J1364 finally from her own toxic hallucinogen gas. Ruby was silent... before she then start walking, walking toward the highest room in the tower itself, as the toxic hallucinogen gas slowly dissipate into the outside air. She walk down the hallway silently... until another fog appear, except this time, it was purple in color, before she heard another shout, albert of her nickname, from another familiar voice.

" _BLACK DEATH!!!!_ "

Ruby look up ahead, several dozen of feet right ahead of her, was Adam, fully enclosed in his armor as he was holding prism-shape aroma lamp, which was spewing out the purple smoke, in his right hand.

"So you're a friend of Blake, huh? You see this _lamp_ that i'm holding in my hand? It was used back during the ancient _days_ of Menagerie. It was used by _many_ warriors, due to the _fuel_ that it burns. A toxic mushroom that emit a gas that caused hallucination. Those warrior use this to posion themselves before a fight... so that _fear_ will be on their _sides_. Because it cause their opponent to see them in their most _terrifying_ appearance from their perspective... _striking_ fear in them..." Adam put the prism-shape lamp down onto the floor... before, from Ruby's perspective, he transformed into a flaming minotaur, with hair made of fire, its eyes glowing bright orange like the flames themselves, black smoke coming from its nose and mouth, and its hands are covered in lava, as he told Ruby, in a more deeper and demonic voice of his with an smug look on his face. " **And like them, I WILL USE THAT FEAR TO STRIKE YOU _DOWN!!!!_** "

Ruby was in complete silent as she remained still, not getting out her equipment at all, not seem to be impressed by this... before she started to laugh at this. _Laughing_ at him, much to both Adam's confusion and anger at this before he spoke to her.

" **What's so funny?!** "

"You're an _idiot_ , Adam. You're _truely_ are an idiot."

" **Huh?** "

"Haven't you _heard_? The Beowolf maybe easily one of the _weakest_ Creature of Grimm, but they have _one_ thing that they _excel_ at, far better _than_ any of the other Creatures of Grimm...: **The greatest _potential_.**" Ruby said, as she told Adam. " **If they've wait long enough for their _time_ to grow by the years and the _patience_ to learn the wisedom of experience...**" She turn into a Beowolf from Adam's own perspective of this. " **... they can become more _powerful_ and more _skilled_ than a Goliath or even a Alduwing as Grimm get more _powerful_ with age as they cannot _died_ as they are _immortal_.**" She then turn into a Alpha Beowolf. " **So as a result of this, even the most _weakest_ of Grimm...**" She turn into a Mutant Beowolf. " **... Can become _Gods_ in their own _rights_.**"

([X](https://monsterhunter.fandom.com/wiki/Stygian_Zinogre_Photo_Gallery))

Adam's eyes, hidden behind his helmet, suddenly look with horror in them.. as an gigantic, Stygian Zinogre-like Beowolf _loomed_ over him, before with an single _swipe_ of its claws, cut him across his chest... just as Ruby cut across his chest with Bendo Nightmare, wounding him instantly and leaving him to died a slow and painful death.

Ruby look at his body in silence before she turn around and kept on walking. Walking toward the highest room of the KOVIP building. She walk up the stairs to the highest point and walk down the hallway... before coming across the large pair of doors.

The doors then slowly open up for her, revealing a room that was in totally darkness. Ruby remain silent at this... before she got out Bendo Nightmare and Razer Behemoth in her hands and walk into the dark room, preparing to face Mr. Merlot all on her own... before the doors closed themselves on her, leaving her seal in the total darkness of the room.

Ruby still remain silent at this... before she heard a familiar chuckle before eight glowing red eyes look at her as a voice spoke.

" **Hello, Ruby. I'm glad that _you've_ made it to the grand _event_ for the grand _finale_ of my grand _plan_ for this kingdom.**"

"Dr. Merlot." Ruby spoke with absolute _venom_ in her voice, before she then ask him. " _Why_ did I manage to killed all 5 of the AHS Unit so _easily_ despite me being _beaten_ by them before? And most importantly, _what_ are you planning?"

" **Them? Please, even they're superior to the Grimm Soldiers, they were _not_ designed to kill them.**" Dr. Merlot explained. " **After all, they were _just_ expandable soldiers anyway.**"

"What? You just treated them like mook like the KOVIP troopers? Even through they're _better_ than them?!"

" **Precisely. They were just _volunteers_ whose dreams are completely _worthless_ to me and my grand final plan. Worthless dreams which made them perfect willing _volunteers_ for my spare time, making it their _faults_ since it was their own _choice_.**" Dr. Merlot said rather cautiously about the AHS Unit, insulting them for it, as they were _nothing_ to him. " **Therefore, it was one of their biggest _mistake_ for volunteering for one of my _side_ projects. However, they probably all made _some_ of the biggest mistakes in their lives _before_ they've voluteers. Just _like_ Ozpin himself, who've made _many_ mistakes. However, this make me ask one question: Just _how_ many mistake he've made?**"

"... Is it because _he_ was the _one_ who taught _you_?"

" **Yes. However, I was the _least_ biggest mistake he made in his life. Why you maybe asking? Well, giving that this is _Ozpin_ , he've _always_ keep the truth a sercet from everyone, even the closest of his allies. However... _I_ found out _what_ he was keeping when I probing his mental fragment mind. I'll tell you of what Ozpin- Or should I say... Oz _ma_ , was _keeping_.**" Dr. Merlot said before he begun to explain to Ruby. " **You see. The biggest mistake he've ever made in his life... was his _first_ one: You see, as it turns out, he was originally human who has a pure heart and a noble soul. A righteous warrior who did things for the greater good. Or what he _believe_ that is... One day, he save an alonely young girl from a tower. Her name... was _Salem_. When he save her from the tower, they fallen in love together and went on many adventures. However, as we all know, being a righteous warrior with a pure heart and a noble soul doesn't do you any flavors, not even from the gods... as reality itself is a cruel place to be in. He soon died of an illness. Salem, however... only has the emotional maturity of a child, due to living in a tower for so _long_. That was his _first_ mistake. He didn't teach her of how to take death of a love one like an normal adult would do, all because he thought they _live_ in an fantasy tale, but in truth... they did _not_. Soon, Salem was pressing whatever buttons that Gods has in order to resurrect her lover, but however, when they found out about it, they were angered by this and cursed Salem with immortality, denying her death unless she learn her lesson. However, the God of Light decide resurrect Ozma so he unite Humanity, but with one _warning_ : Do not go looking for Salem. But of course, Ozma _didn't_ listen to that warning... why? Because he was a mortal... He soon reconnect with Salem, long after she had dipped into an pool of Grimm essence, and the two of them acted as Gods and created a prosperous kingdom under their rule while also starting an family together, but however, such things never last ... as even though they're immortal, they were _still_ human. When they disagree on their own plans for humanity, they fought each other, which resulted in killing their four daughters. As a result of this, this starting the _millinna_ -long feud between the two former lovers. They set their sights and creating their _desires_ on trying to destroying each other, by whatever means _necessary_. Their desires then became a _craving_. Their craving then became a _obsession_. _This_ obsession of trying to destroy each other cause _untold_ numbers of deaths for countless millennia. However, Ozpin mention, by _accident_ no less, Salem's name when he was teaching me and he just told me she was just an archenemy of his _and_ nothing else. But again.... _nothing_ can goes your _way_ as _reality_ itself is a _cruel_ place, as I did eventually learn of who she is and what she look from one of her followers, who let me know because he want to live. Of course, this is _me_ that we're talking about, so I wasn't gonna let him live anyway for pragmatic reasons. During the beginning part of the middle part of the Second Great War, I was hired by the Vale Council, on my _own_ free will, to work on a project to win their _little_ war and create super-soldiers by putting the essence that made up the Grimm into a human and faunus body, which I've immediately agree with since it allow me to experiment and test the idea of what happen when we put grimm essence into a living body. When you transform into the first Grimm Soldier ever created, _it_ has struck me: If this is what _happen_ to a human or a faunus body when a grimm essense is put in, then it _meant_ that Salem would have been similiar and _therefore_ , she was _human_ too. I realized that, even they're immortally, are still _technically_ human, then it meant that I could still break them _mentally_. After the end of the Second Great War, I was _armed_ with this _new_ knowledge, along with _all_ the lab data from Project LOST and the _technology_ that was hidden in the vault of now all but abandon Beacon Academy, which I've _found_ during the first year of the war itself, I have experiment on _myself_ to become of what you _see_ today and created 2 devices that would capture Ozma and Salem's _souls_ , which easier _said_ than _done_. _Luckily_ for _me_ , I found them rather at the right time, as Ozma and Salem are preparing to fight against each other once again, with Ozma in his new current body, _and_ the right place, as they were in such a _secluded_ place that _no one_ would come looking and it would make quickly and easy for me, before I took by _surprised_ and then _impaled_ them through an pair of spears, _connected_ to the two device, before they absorbed their souls into the two devices. With their knowledge and experience now in my hands and at my dispositon, I will wipe this kingdom off of this planet and when that is _done_ , I will use its place for my ultimate goal of my ultimate plan!!!! And I... thanks _you_ for that.**"

"... Because I was your _lab rat_ for your experiment?"

" **Oh, no. No... far more _earlier_ than _that_.**"

"... The first time we met?"

" ** _BINGO!_ You are correct!**" Dr. Merlot laugh before he told Ruby. " **After you and your _friends_ have killed my Deathstalker and escape from my island that was now completely destroyed, I have came to realize something.... _Yes_... _you_ made me realize _something_. I realize that yes, Grimm are individually flawed and damaged, but as a species together, they are _full_ with potentials. That me wonder... who else have those _qualities_? That was when I came to the answer: Human and Faunus. Individually, flawed and damaged, but together, they are full of potential, just like the _Grimms_. So despite their different, they aren't too different then they look. This lead to one question that pop in my mind: What _happen_ if I combine... all _three_ of them into one lifeform?**" Then he chuckle at this. " **Yes... I will _destroyed_ the kingdom of Vale for my ultimate goal! By wiping out the _Humans_ and _Faunus_ out of this kingdom, I will turn the now empty space of it into the _birthplace_ of this _hypothetical_ species. The _crater_ of this species which they will _come_ out of. With me watching over them... as their God who created them! And I, thanks you for _it_ , Ruby Rose.**"

Suddenly, the metal-made window opening slide down, letting light into the room, revealing Dr. Merlot was holding Cardin and Orville in his hands, to keep them silent, but let them go since _he_ didn't need them anymore.

" **But _enough_ talks _now_.**" Dr. Merlot said. " ** _You_** **aren't here for to heared me consistantly talk _anyway_.**"

The windows themselves of the office room shattered when various airborne Grimm thrown several types of Grimm into the room, thus causing Orville run from the office room in fear, showing his true color of the dirty coward, willing to refuse to take resporability for what he done and sacrificing anyone to just save his _own_ skin, of who he really _was_. " _SCREW THIS!_ "

" _GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!_ " Cardin yelled at him with anger sneething in his voice as he chased after him while the various started to chase after them.

" **Now then: If you want to _fight_ me now, then _follow_ me.**" Dr. Merlot told her before he then couch down and suddenly jump up, going through the ceiling of the office room and roof of the tower, with Ruby quickly chase after him as she jump up into the hole...

* * *

 

Orville ran down the hall with all of the strength that all he got to run away from the Grimm, hoping they would eat _them_ instead of _him_ , like the dirty coward he really was.

" _ORVILLE!_ " Cardin easily catch up to the corrupt politican before he grab by the collar of his jacket before he turn him around and glared at him with rage in his eyes, rage at what he and Dr. Merlot did to the kingdom of Vale and its population. "I KNEW IT! _I ALWAYS KNEW IT!_ YOU WERE JUST A DIRTY COWARD WHO ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO TAKE RESPORABILITY FOR WHAT HE OR SHE DONE! But don't worry, BECAUSE I'M GONNA MAKE DO YOU _TAKE IT!!!!_ "

Cardin then flip Orville over himself and thrown him to the incoming _dozens_ of Grimm before he ran, ran for his life, knowing that Orville is emitting _more_ negative emotion than he is, as he was started to be rip _and_ torn apart by the Grimm themselves, both slowly and painfully, while his scream filled the hallway, _not_ shredding any remorse or regret for the asshole who all but _deserved_ it.

However, one of the Grimms, a Griffon to be precise, flew after Cardin, intenting to kill him... but this is what Cardin was hoping _for_ , before he suddenly stop and jumped _straight_ at the Griffon, before he grabs its neck with his arm and _swung_ himself around onto its back, just as it went _through_ the one of the windows at the _other_ end, before he then start punching the Griffon itself, making it fly away from the tower itself...

* * *

 

Ruby soon landed right on very top of the tower's highest _point_... with Dr. Merlot standing _right_ in front of her, with his arm crossed. " **So tell me, Ruby. Even if you do _win_ against me, the Creature of Grimm will be in the city of Vale, killing the population inevitable. What you gonna do about?**"

"... Heh. Maybe If I howled like a _wolf_." Ruby said. The Black Death took a long deep breath at this... before she let out a deep and powerful _howl_ , a howl so powerful that it echoing all _across_ the sky of the city itself in a matter of _minutes_ , _unleashing_ all of her _repressed_ negative emotions...

* * *

 

The 11 hunters, the automated weapons of the Great Wars Tower, and the robot girl herself were fighting all the Grimm off from the basement of the tower... before _they_ all hear the howling roar _itself_ , coming from the KOVIP building itself...

All of their eyes were fill with shock at the sight of the Creature of Grimm themselves turning their attention to the KOVIP building and run toward it, all while ignoring them.

However, that was when a familiar voice spoke through their walkie talkie...

" _COCO! Can you heard me!?_ "

"Yeah! I can heard you, Cardin." Coco answered.

" _Good. Now that Dr. Merlot is the only one at the tower and all of the KOVIP troopers are now probably dead, you can call General Winter Schnee of the Atlas Army to send several of their ships now! Since they'll have a more easier time now due to most of the troopers being dead now, thus being unable to operate most of their own ship-piercing tanks and mechs now, with the AHS Unit being pretty much dead now too._ "

"Okay!"

* * *

 

Ruby _slowly_ breath in and out, trying to regaining her breath, before she then look up at Dr. Merlot, looking down at city from the rooftop of the tower in silent, as _every_ single Creatures of Grimm that were in the city of Vale _were_ now coming to it and start either climbing up _or_ flying up it. She wonder if she made him lose his _cool_... before he started laughing, _laughing_ in front of the sight with those eyes of _his_ , making her _confused_ at this before she ask him. "Why are you _laughing_?"

" **Oh-oh! It's just... so _amusing_ to see _you_ tried to make _me_ lose my _control_.**" Dr. Merlot said, after calming himself down, before he told her. " **But here's thing: You _can't_. Why? Because I no longer _care_ about winning _or_ losing, not anymore _now_. Why? I _already_ got everything that I _wanted_. So it doesn't really _matter_ if you or I win or lose this _battle_ , as I already got what I wanted _anyway_.**" He said... before he unfolded his arms as he then spoke _seriously_." **Enough talk _now_. As I waited long enough _now_.**"

"... So did _I_." Ruby said, taking a battle posture with Bendo Nightmare and Razer Behemoth.

With that, Ruby and Dr. Merlot let out the _roar_ of their battle cries before they immediately _charged_ at each other as lightning flashes across the snowing skies themselves:

Ruby easily dodge his swipe before stabbing Bendo Nightmare though one of his hands when he attempt to swipe again. Dr. Merlot, in return, punch her across the face with his right hand as he got his left hand out of Bendo Nightmare. Ruby then use Razer Behemoth to block his another attack and use its 2 top-spikes to stab into the palm of his right hand before kicking him in the face.

However, Dr. Merlot use his tail to wrap around Ruby's neck before he punch her, skitting her across the roof before she use Razer Behemoth's two top-spikes, but he didn't give her any chance as he instantly charge at her and punching her against the roof before grabbing her and send her flying up in the air. He then jumped up and grab her again with his hand before slamming her into the roof again and punch her again, sending her flying across the roof just before she use Bendo Nightmare to skit her momentum to a stop.

Dr. Merlot was about to charged her again... before a huge white-glowing blade of a massive sword stab through from behind his back and jagged out of his chest... as the sword itself was being hold by none other than Weiss' Arma Gigas.

Seeing this as her chance, Ruby charged at him with her semblance and jumping into the air... before, _finally_ , stabbing Bendo Nightmare and Razer Behemoth _right_ into Dr. Merlot's head and instantly electricuted him, finally ending the life of Dr. Merlot...

Ruby pulled Bendo Nightmare and Razer Behemoth out of his now dead body as it begun to evaporized into the air. Ruby was silence at this before she look and saw Weiss' Arma Gigas. It look at her, not uttering one word... before it postion its left hand, as if wanting to give her _something_.

Curious, Ruby put away Razer Behemoth and open her hand to it... before it drop something and disperse among the falling snow. She look down in her hand of what it was given to her... the detentor. _The detentor_ for the tower. The detentor that allow her to blow up the tower itself. She look up and see various Creature of Grimm have already climb the tower and they begun to charged at Ruby, _all_ at once...

"... Eh... I have _nothing_ else to _lost_ anyway..."

_CLICK!_

The tower, the KOVIP building itself, immediately blew up into a intense blaze of glory that wipe out every Creature of Grimm that were in its proximity. The skyscaper was now on fire on every single of its floor... before it collapse upon itself, kicking up the snow and dust into the air, clouding the ruin of the once might tower that loomed over the city of Vale...

Phoenix, with several other people that came out to see of what was happening, stood still at what she just see with her own eyes.

She was silence... before she saw a figure coming out of the smoke...

... It was none other than Ruby herself, when she realized it, as she'e survived the collapse of the tower itself, before she turn around and look at it.

They remain silent at this... before Phoenix finally ask. "Ruby... What does this mean?"

"A _second_ chance..." Ruby answered... before she then turn around and walk away, making Phoenix confused before she ask her.

"Where are you going?"

"To find a purpose in my life..." Ruby answered as she continue to walk away... before she spoke to herself. "After all... isn't this what you wanted to do, Weiss?"

Ruby walk away as the grey cloud split apart to reveal the sunlights above with snow now gently falling to the ground...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, the epilogue will be posted on New Years Eve. So yeah... you're gotta have to wait for it.


	5. Sometimes... The Darkness Can Show You The Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Titles:  
> The Light  
> Immortalized

It was now already over a month since the end of the KOVIP group's, and by extension, Dr. Merlot's, reign over the kingdom of Vale.

Ruby was walking down the streets silently, alone, all by herself, in her Grimm Commander armor with her two equipments, never once taking her armor or her equipment off of her, as it was snowing gently now on the streets of Vale itself. However, that was when a black car slowly pull up behind Ruby and follow her down beside the road.

Ruby wasn't a fool as she have already notice that the black car was following her before she stop walking, causing the black car itself crawl to a stop, and spoke to the driver. "Who are you? And why are you following me?"

There was silent for a moment... before the window slowly rolled down and reveal a pair of ears that belong to a faunus as he spoke to Ruby. "My name is Cherry. I am here to bring you to the only city of Menagerie, Kuo Kuana, by the direct orders of Chieftian Blake Belladonna herself and her wife Yang Xiao Long Belladonna."

"... Why?"

"Various reasons really. A _few_ of which you might know already."

Ruby was silent at this... before she let out a calm sigh and turn around to face Cherry before she told him. "Ah, screw it. I don't have anything better to do anyway...

* * *

 

It took a couple of weeks for them to arrived at the port of the city of Kuo Kuana, the only city of Menagerie, by ship. During the time before they got on a ship, they've met a chameleon faunus at one of the harbors of Vale by name of Ilia, who was apparently a friend of Blake, who have gotting them a ride on an engine-powered ocean liner that is mostly made out of wood called Eaststray, the same one that took Blake back to her home, to take the 3 of them to Kuo Kuana.

During their sea travel on the Eaststray, they took on and killed a few, but rather large grimms that were attacking the ship itself.

Never once, in their journary toward Kuo Kuana, that Ruby took off her Grimm Commander armor or equipment. Only when she is taking a bath privately.

Finally, after what appears to be weeks and weeks on the water of the ocean, they've finally made it to Menagerie. Eaststray soon docked at one of Kuo Kuana's harbor and they got off of the ship itself with the many passenagers onboard. After Ilia and Cherry have stretched out their limbs, the three walk down the street, walking toward the Belladonna Family home.

As the three walk toward Belladonna Family home, Ruby noted the various people that were looking, strangely and cautiously, at her as they walk down the streets of Kuo Kuana, clearly reminding her that she was just a stranger, a stranger who is lost in an new form of the world that she wasn't attach to, not anymore...

Soon, the three have walk up the stairs of the house before coming up to the pair of the front doors themselves. Taking in a deep breath and sighing at this, Ruby walk over to the door and knock on it. When she did that, the doors suddenly flew open, startled them, before a yellow blur immediately dashed from inside and tackle her.

"RUBY!!!" Yang shouted, happy to see her little sister, evidence by the tone in her voice, as she, through older in her age now, give the biggest bear hug she can muster to Ruby... even through it was just annoying as a hand squeeze, before she spoke to her relative whom she didn't see for many years already. "I'm glad my super duper little sister who I haven't seen for _years_ now is here!!!"

"Yes, Yang..." Ruby said, as she patted her on the back with her left hand while looking the other way, evidence by their diffences in heights, before she grab her shoulders and slowly push her away as she spoke to her older, but now shorter, sister. "It's good to see you too."

"Yang! You didn't need to run like that in the house you know..." A familiar, albert now older, voice called out to Yang before Blake, now looking like her mother in her older years, appear from the doorway as she walk after her wife before she was took by complete shock when she saw Ruby in front of her. "Ruby? Is that you?"

"Yes, Blake. It's me. I see that you haven't change that much over the years."

"Well, I can say the opposite for _you_ , Ruby. You've changed... a lot, the last time I saw you."

"The years themselves weren't _kind_ to me, old friend."

"I can most definitely see that, Ruby." Blake said. "It's pretty much an _understatement_ from what I can see."

"Right, Blake. You got that right..." Yang said before she then made a joke. "But hey, I thought this talk was gonna be a _Yang_. Eh? Eh? Eeehhh?"

The four didn't laugh at the blonde's joke as the cricket were chirping at the silence of it. Yang just sheepish chuckle at this before she noted that Ruby was completely silent as she was just giving her an annoyed blank expression behind her helmet, judging by the pose of her head, before she told her sister, bluntly. "Yang. Those unamusing jokes just make you look like both a complete fool and idiot, which is not helped by your looks. So if you tried to start a comedian career the second, you'll be pelted by tomatos... at over _Mach 3_."

"Oh, COME RUBY! I'm trying to make you crack a smile!" Yang said as she fling her arms up into the air before she drop them and just sighed sadly at this. "I guess you don't have a _sense_ of humor anymore, so I was gonna failed to make you at least smile anyway."

"Yes... but at least you did it better than that guy I knew of."

"Huh? You said the same thing to that guy."

"Yes. He wanted to tried a comedian career despite being a terrible one at core."

"What happen to him?"

"He got obliterated."

"... By a cannon shell?"

" _37_. And dust-infused ones to be precise. And that was right after he was tempting fate that he was gonna survived the battle."

"... Right. Okay, enough of that." Blake said, after she shook off from the already unnecessary grusome details and Ruby's sheer bluntiness of this, before she then spoke to Ilia and Cherry. "Thank you for bringing Ruby to us."

"No problem, Blake."

"You're welcome, Chieftian Belladonna."

With a wave of her gesture, Blake dismissed them both and they left them at the porch of the Belladonna household. The three walked into the house and the couple lead Ruby through it. As they filled Ruby in of what they were doing and what is going on over the years, she look at the photos on the wall, from the days when they were once in Beacon Academy to the day they were married and to Christmas from last year, albert she did notice a few people that were with them that she doesn't recognized...

"AUNT YANG! AUNT BLAKE! What are you doing?" A voice called out from the kitchen, a voice that was unrecognizable to Ruby and didn't know of who exactly it was, before Blake respond back to her.

"We're just showing a special guest around the house that you really wanted to meet."

"Huh? Who is it?"

The moment when the unknown girl herself exit the kitchen, Ruby went completely silence while her ears became deaf as she was shock of what she saw with her own eyes behind her helmet: She was just like Ruby in every way back in her younger days, back when she was just a normal 15-year old girl, from her clothings along with her cape to the looks of her face and body and even to the hair style itself, if she was already in her early 20s. In every way, she look like her, all except for her hair were white like Weiss' own with having pink highlights right at the tips while her clothing and cape were all blue as her eyes were silver like the metal themselves, like just Ruby's own once were. She didn't heard her talking or what she was saying as she look at her... before she turn her head and saw Ruby.

The two woman just stared at each other in complete silence... before the young woman ask Yang. "Aunt Yang... who is this."

"Oh, Mei! This is the... special guest we were talking about..." Yang said awkwardly as she fumble around the words in order to breakdown for her... before she let out a sigh at this and decide just to tell her honestly. "I knew you wanted to meet her, so that why she's here. How should I say it? ... Mei. This woman in armor right here beside us... is one of _your_ 2 mothers."

The woman's eyes, who's name apparently is Mei, just grew wide in shock of what Yang said, before she look at Ruby, who was none other then her own mother, or one of them at least, as she spoke. "Mom? Is that you?"

Ruby just look at Mei, her related daughter, in complete silence... before she finally spoke to her, with honestly in her voice. "I... I didn't recall having a daughter."

Mei just look at her own mother with a dumbfounded look on her face before she just let out a side-splitting laughter at this, much to Ruby's own confusion at this, before it slowly turn to a few burst of giggle as she then spoke to her. "T-That's because I was technially genetically-engineer from your and Weiss' , my other mother, DNA at an Atlas genetic facility that I was born at, just a few years before the end of the Second Great War, before I was extricate from it by Aunty Ilia when she was infiltrated into it."

"I see..." Ruby said, while she carefully look at her daughter's facial feature before she notice Mei's birthmark, running right down vertically on her left eye and face, looking a lot like the crooked scar on Weiss' face. That was when she heard another voice from the kitchen.

"Mei! Who are you talking to? I want to meet her!" Another woman, a black cat faunus to be precise, who honestly look a lot like the love child between Yang and Blake, and therefore, is most likey is, came out of the kitchen, as Ruby mentally wonder of why she didn't hear the talk despite being a faunus, but she guess she was busy with something else, before she then notice Ruby with a weirded out look on her face and she move closer to Mei before she ask her. "Mei? Who is the weird guy in the armor?"

"Li. This is my mom, Ruby." Mei answered her question, who was apparently named Li, as she spoke to her, rolling her eyes at this before she then spoke to her mother. "Mom, this is Yang and Blake's daughter, and my wife, Li."

"Oh, hi!" Li said naively said... before realization just slowly drawn on her mind as she slowly piece it together before she then spoke. "Wait, she's your- Oh... Oh! OH! OH C***! OH F*** ME! Oh! Oh..." Li then cover her face with both of her hands, in pure and raw embarrassment from what she said to her own mother-in-law. "Oh i'm going to most definitely gonna f***ing died from this." Li mumble to herself in embarrassment, all she knewing right is that she was gonna most likey died for it as this was her first impression that she give to Ruby.

"Li, Li, Li... why you are so slow to react?" Yang ask herself as she shook herself while Blake just rub her forehead with one of her hands.

Mei just rolled her eyes once more before she told her utterly embarrass wife. "Li, i'm pretty sure you're not going kill by my mother for being innocently insenstive... right, mom?"

"Yes. Althrough I do _know_ of where she got it _from_."

"HEY!" Yang said... before she slightly smile at this. "At least you a tiny bit sense of humor, even through I don't like it at _all_ , at least you're still my sister by a bit." Then she throw her arms into the air. "LET'S CELEBRATE MY SISTER'S RETURN!"

Unfortunately, Mei immeidately walked up to one of her mother-in-laws before flicking her fingers on foreheard, which earn a loud "OW!" from her, before she told Yang sternly. "No, Yang. We are _not_ gonna celebrate for my mother's arrival right now. We're to let her settle in first thing first."

"But... But... But..."

"She's right, Yang. We can do it later. After all, she just got here anyway."

"Yes. And beside..." Mei said before she flick her hair around as she told her. "I want to met _her_."

"Huh?" Ruby said as she tilted her head in confusion like a canine before she ask. "Do I have another daughter? I'm glad- No, make that relieved, and all that you're happy that i'm alive and well, but i'm confuse and have no idea of what the hell is going on."

Mei sighed at this before she told her mother. "Come with me, mom. It's best if you see it yourself." She led Ruby down the hallway and pass by two rooms, one of which belong to Mei and Li while the other belong to Blake and Yang, before they've stop at the last room in the hallway and grab the handle of the door. She turned to her mother and ask her. "Remember how I mention that I was created from your and mother's DNA?"

"Yes."

"Well, after me and Li gradulated from Shade Academy and soon got married, we decide use it, since it is now recently free for mass consumers." Ruby realized of what the implication that her daughter, her own biologically-related daughter, whom that she didn't know existed at all, was getting at, before Mei then slowly open the door for her. There, inside of the room itself, was reveal to be some kind of nursery, with several toys and other care items, as a crib was sitting in the middle of the room. Then she ask her mother. "Mother... want to come in and see your grandchild, Aygül?"

' _My grandchild..._ ' "Y-yeah." ' _My grandchild... My **grandchild**..._'

Ruby slowly walk into the room and walked over to the crib in the center of the room before she came to one side of it and look over...

There, sleeping peacefully right in the middle of the crib itself, was Aygül, with her hair being a beautiful shining platinum, as she blissfully sleep unaware, unknown that her grandmother was looking at her above.

Ruby was in complete silence as she look at the sleeping form of Aygül before she slowly put the palm of her hand around her grandchild's hand, noticing of how tiny they were compare to hers. She look in surprised behind her helmet... when Aygül smiled and begun to giggle as she grab her grandmother's index finger, as if she knew who she was despite her young age.

Ruby was completely silent of this... before a smile was raised behind her helmet, as she knew that she found something. A sense of purpose. A sense... of the will to live.

Was life itself, despite its ups and downs, truely worth it? Maybe. As questions like that... remain to be questions.

 

The End

 

**Author's Note:**

> All the chapter will reference to the songs of the Disturbed Band...


End file.
